Reid and Learn
by AlbusSeverusPotter7
Summary: Charlotte Romanoff has just moved from England to America, and soon becomes a member of the BAU. While moving has it's ups and downs, the team is closer together. Romanoff begins to learn that acceptance is easy to earn but hard to keep, while Reid learns that relationships come at a cost, and the cost is never cheap. Permanent Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**New Fanfic. It takes place in Season 10 **

"Okay, okay, now line up at the mat, and we're going to do this one more time," SSA Derek Morgan yelled to the class. "Now, you've all passed your tests. I get that. But if you really want to work here, you have to beat me. We've got one spot left at the BAU, and it's with my team and I. Whoever wins, wins the spot. Get it?"

Everyone nodded, but started to look around shiftily. While they were trained to their hardest, they were scared about having to fight against Morgan himself. They man was buff, to the point that he could look at you and you'd fall over in pain. While the women were ready to try, the men seemed apprehensive. The last thing they wanted was to fail dismally and lose not only the spot, but the idea of going out with any one of the women beside them. They knew what was up, after all, they'd seen these women in their yoga pants and sports bras.

"Come on now" Morgan said, whipping off his glasses and tossing them off to the side, "no takers?"

"Well, I don't think they'd really want to make you fall down in pain. That is if you've trained them as much as you say you have," a voice said. Morgan whipped his head around and laughed as he saw Aaron Hotchner making his way towards him, with a young woman walking at his side.

"What's up Hotch? Think I haven't made good on my promise? They're practically made of iron" Morgan said, jabbing the guy to the left of him in the stomach. The kid immediately went down, tears in the corners of his eyes. The others, however, began to laugh. "Oh come on Stevens. Get up" Morgan said, sighing as the kid popped up, laughing along with his mates.

"While I enjoy your class laughing at you, I've got someone here I'd like you to meet," Hotch said, gesturing to the tall woman on his right. "Meet Charlotte Romanoff. She's been reassigned to our team."

"Nice to meet you," Morgan said, shaking the woman's hand.

"Likewise," she replied, with a hint of an English accent.

"Hey, Morgan, do you think she can beat you? I mean, she's technically got the spot, she won't lose anything, and it's worth a try, right?" Stevens said, as the others nodded in agreement.

"Wait, what?" Hotch said.

"I, ah, made a little bet with them. I told them that whoever could beat me in a fight would get the spot at the BAU" Morgan replied meekly.

"Morgan, that's not your decision-" Hotch began.

"I know, but it's worth a try." He turned to Charlotte and asked, "you don't mind, do you?"

Hotch interrupted. "Morgan, she just got here-."

"Nonsense," replied Charlotte, "I'd love to test out my training. I should warn you though, they're a bit more aggressive where I'm from. Especially where self defence is concerned," she said, looking at Morgan and making her way on the mat.

"See? She's up to a challenge," Morgan replied to Hotch who smiled slightly. He turned to Charlotte, "let's do this."

Charlotte unzipped the light grey sweater she was wearing, revealing a simple white tank top and a pair of navy blue joggers. It was then that Morgan really got a look at her. She was tall, easily a nice 5'7. Her dark blue hair was clearly long and heavy as it took a huge tie to keep it in a ponytail. Her eyes were a piercing green color, which looked nice against her tanned skin. She wasn't skinny like Jennifer, or too plump, but she was fit and had defined muscles that were visible in her arms. "Scared?" He asked playfully.

"You wish" she replied, with a smirk. Hotch, looking around slightly, pulled out his phone and hit 'Record.'

Derek moved swiftly to the right of her, where he believed she'd least expect it. However, she was too quick, blocking his punch, she threw a nasty left hook at Morgan, which stuck him right in the jaw. He stumbled back slightly, but managed to regain his balance as she came in swinging with a fierce right hook. Morgan, with the help of years of practice, dodged it quickly and kneed her in the side. He went against her again and gave her an underestimated powerful elbow in the mouth. Recognizing that she was hurt, Charlotte went in for one last move. She moved quickly and used Morgan's strength against him, grabbing hold of his right arm and using it to swing herself around so her knees were wrapped around his neck, and used her weight and force to continue the swing, which made Morgan lose his balance and collapse as Charlotte landed with her feet firmly on the ground.**

Smiling, she stuck out a hand, and offered to help Morgan up.

"No thanks, I'll just stay on the ground where you can't hurt me," Derek laughed, as he took her hand and stood up.

Charlotte wiped the blood off her face and laughed. "I could have kept you down longer if I'd wanted to."

Hotch clapped enthusiastically, along with the others who'd seen the fight. "That was amazing. I've never seen him get knocked to the ground that fast." He placed his phone back in his pocket.

"Keep that up and you'll get a front row seat" Derek replied. Turning back to Charlotte, who'd picked up her sweater he asked, "Where'd you learn all that?"

"Streets," she replied dryly. "Never had much growing up, so I had to do what I could to scrape by. Not like I need to ask you. You've got some street in you too. Chicago, I reckon. Add to that a little football as well."

Derek's mouth hung open, "Well I'll be damned. You got all that from a little fight? Hotch, you've done good with this one."

"I know" Hotch and Charlotte replied simultaneously. Suddenly Hotch's phone began to beep and he pulled it out of his pocket once more. Sighing, he looked up, "We've got a case."

"Well, looks like we're done here," Derek said nodding to the class. "Have fun looking for a spot." He picked up his sports bag, and Charlotte shrugged on her sweater.

"Are you sure you want to start today? I mean if you want to take time t-" Hotch began.

"I didn't come to sit around, Sir. One Penelope Garcia told me to bring a bag full of the essentials," Charlotte replied.

"Where is it?" Hotch asked.

"In my car," she replied.

"Well, you'd better go grab it. Morgan go with her and just fill her in on the generics. Meet us in the conference room in an hour" Hotch said as he began to make his way to the BAU building.

"Come along Agent," Morgan said, as the pair headed towards the parking lot.

"Wish there was somewhere I could clean up. I don't fancy meeting everyone with my face in it's, well, in its current state," she laughed.

"We've got showers here, in the washrooms. Oh, and we have an hour before we've got to meet everyone. So you'll have enough time to put on some makeup to cover the nice mark I've given you." Morgan said, gesturing to the faint bruise forming by Charlotte's lip.

She laughed deeply, "I could say the same about your face as well, Agent Morgan."

"You can call me Morgan, everyone's an agent here," Derek said, as they walked through the lot. "Which one is yours?" he asked.

"Behind the Nissan," she replied pointing to a seemingly empty spot.

"What? Do you drive one of those annoying little SMART cars or a Fia- DAMN. THAT"S A BADASS MOTORCYCLE!" Morgan cried as he ran up to the bike. A beautiful, white 1959 Triumph 650 T 120 Bonneville stood gleaming in the space. Slowly, he raised his hand, and was an inch away from the tank when Charlotte slightly smacked his hand away.

"Look but don't touch," she said sternly. Morgan frowned slightly, "alright you can touch, but carefully."

"This is incredible. Where'd you get it?" Derek asked as he walked around the bike, analyzing it's every inch.

"Bought it off an old fellow I met in a pub. Was smashed to pieces when I got it though. Had to fix it up myself, seeing as no one else had the time, patience, and skill to do it for less than 1,000 quid," she said, standing up, and swinging her bag to her side. "Shall we?" she asked, gesturing to the elevator inside the lot that would take them to the correct floor.

"Yeah, let's go, before I think of stealing your ride," Derek said, glancing back as Charlotte made her way to the elevator.

Not even looking back, she yelled "It'll still be here when we get back."

Morgan rushed after her and into the elevator, which had just opened up. "Floor 7 is us," he said. "The members of our team are pretty different from one another, but we're like a close family. You've met Hotch, and he's sort of like our paternal figure. He seems pretty strict, but he's actually a nice guy. Then you've got Rossi; the man's practically a legend. He helped start the Bureau and came back a few years ago after Gideon left. Then there's me, Jenifer Jareau or JJ, Kate Callahan, Spencer Reid, and Penelope Garcia. Penelope's our technical analyst, and the rest of us are profilers."

"Don't tell me what anyone looks like, I like to guess these things," Charlotte replied, attempting to calm her nerves down.

"Don't be too nervous, we're all nice people. Or so we'd like to think," Morgan laughed. The bell dinged and the cool metal doors slid open, revealing a nice, clean, and modern office. Through the glass doors in front of her, Charlotte could see the cubicles in the BAU office. Figures were walking straight pass the pair as she stared ahead.

"So that's?" she asked, pointing.

"Yep. The showers are on the fifth door to your right. Oh, and they have towels, and when you're done, just walk into these doors. Odds are I'll be at my desk and we'll still have a half an hour until Hotch needs us." He patted her on the back as she continued to stare blindly at the doors in front of them. "Hey, just relax. You'll do great." He gave her one last encouraging nod before heading off in the opposite direction.

"Oi e vhey" Charlotte sighed, as she walked to the washrooms.

Charlotte took a deep breath before walking in to the department. She looked around until her eyes landed on Morgan, who was standing by the coffee maker, along with a few other people around him. She made her way to them waving politely to the others.

"Guys, this is Charlotte Romanoff. She's the newest member of our family" Morgan said.

A lean blonde woman stepped forward, "Hi I'm-"

"Hold on, let me guess. Erm, you're Jennifer Jareau, right?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, pleased to meet you, and please, call me JJ" she replied smiling.

"And you must be David Rossi, Kate Callahan, Spencer Reid, and Penelope Garcia" Charlotte said.

"You got all that from what I told you in the elevator?" Morgan said, "I'm impressed."

"No, I think she impressed you enough already," Hotch said, as he made his way to the team. He began pouring out coffee and handing it out. "She kicked his butt this morning. In front of his student as well."

"You're joking, right?" Rossi asked, looking at Charlotte. "Really?"

"Come on Hotch, it wasn't like that-" Morgan said.

"It was, I have documented proof," Hotch replied pulling out his phone, and opening the video. Slowly everyone watched as Charlotte brought Morgan down to the ground in a single move.

"OOHH," they said as Morgan's face was planted firmly on the mat.

"She kicked your ass" Rossi and Callahan said, looking at Morgan.

"You've finally met your match," JJ replied.

"My chocolate thunder, brought to the ground with one strike. Woman, I don't know you that well, but I am in awe. This moment is going on my list," Garcia said giving the girl a high five.

"Morgan, when did you stop working out?" Reid asked, causing everyone to laugh harder.

"Oh, you're making jokes now?" Morgan said, raising an eyebrow at Reid, who nodded, smiling.

"We should probably help you settle in," Callahan said, as she threw an arm around the newbie, steering her towards a clean little cubicle next to Morgan's. "This will be your new home. I suggest putting a few pictures up, especially one of that last move you gave Morgan."

"Thanks," Charlotte said, smiling to the woman. "So, where do the rest of you live?"

"Well, I'm right here" said Callahan, gesturing to the cubicle behind Charlotte. "Reid is right in front of you, and Penelope's is the third door on the left."

"Okay, not too much to remember," she joked, as she sat down. The others grabbed chairs or sat at their respective cubicles.

"So tell us about yourself?" JJ said eagerly.

"What do you want to know?" Charlotte replied.

"Um, let's see, everything?" Rossi said, laughing.

"Well I have a tendency to ramble, so you might want to be a little specific" she replied cunningly.

"A quality shared by Spencer Reid," Morgan said, pointing to Reid, who was sitting opposite Charlotte, his chin propped up on his hand.

"Well, I was born in Russia-" she began.

"Wait you're Russian?" Morgan said.

"Well, if the last name didn't give you a clue," she rolled her eyes, causing them to smile. "So I was born in Russia, and moved to England when I was about 11. We left Russia for a better life after my father died. Wasn't too bad when he died though, we weren't all that close. From there, I bounced around a lot. My mum didn't have a lot so I ended up getting forked over to the system when I was thirteen. Wasn't in foster care for too long though, an old couple met me and they decided to adopt me. When I say old, I mean they were in their sixties. Couldn't have kids, had lots of money, didn't know what to do with it. So, they took care of me, and we were like a family. Wasn't like that for too long though. The husband died when I was sixteen, and at that age I was already in university-"

"Where'd you study?" Reid asked.

"Er- Oxford. I managed to get a scholarship in their Law School. Graduated about two years later, and-"

"Wait, it took you two years to complete your education?" Callahan asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I have a high IQ-"

"How high?" Morgan asked.

"186" she replied.

Morgan whistled, "Nearly beat wonder boy here," he gestured to Reid, who looked down, blushing.

"What's yours?" she asked.

"187," he replied.

"Jesus. Well, erm- I got my degree, practiced law for a bit, and then went back to school and got my medical degree in about 3 years, and my engineering degree in another 3. Picked up my PhD in literature in 2 years. While I was getting my medical degree my grandma died, and I inherited some money. I used it to fund my other degrees and I ended up moving here."

"Why'd you move?" JJ asked. "You could have had an amazing career there-."

"My mum came back. Heard that I had some money, and tried to swindle it from me. I moved up and down the country, but I couldn't shake her off. Eventually, though, she got shot and died. That's when I decided to move here. Clean slate, fresh start, change of scenery."

"Damn, that sounds tough," Morgan said.

"You lost your father didn't you? Shot as well?" She said, looking at the man.

"Yeah, he was a cop. Got shot in front of me," Morgan said.

"Sucks, doesn't it," she replied. Morgan nodded slowly. "Hey, I didn't mean to dampen the mood. Oh, do any of you happen to have some pins, I've got some photos here with me."

"You carry photos around?" Reid asked, as he passed her a small box full of pins.

"Not usually, but I had nowhere else to put them when I was packing. I don't trust the FedEx people. I ordered a table from them once and they lost it," she replied, as she unzipped her sweater. Slowly the others began to gravitate towards their respective areas.

Reid's eyes narrowed in on the shirt, which read 'Beam me up Scotty!' with a small picture of the Enterprise, followed by another piece which read 'there's no intelligent life down here.'

Charlotte noticed the man's gaze lingering on her shirt. "Trekker?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied.

Charlotte sighed, "finally someone who watches good television. Do you know how many times I've made the best Star Trek puns and jokes, but no one got them?"

"Kirk or Spock?" he asked.

"Secret option C, McCoy," she replied smirking. "Jedi or wizard?"

"Jedi," he replied.

"No, it's wizard, mate. You always pick wizard," she said, feigning sadness.

"Hold on, you don't like Star Wars," Reid asked, looking slightly offended.

"Nope, Harry Potter mate," she replied.

"But he gets all his powers from a wand!" Reid replied. "Jedi's have the power within themselves."

"No, the wand is used to help control the powers. The person is born with magic. And besides, the force is a complete stretch for what is actually neurological physics."

"You like physics?" Reid asked. He was beginning to warm up to the new girl. It helped that she was very attractive as well.

"Yeah, but it sort of takes a backseat to lit," she replied.

"Who do you read?"

"Er; Rowling, Tolkien, Lewis, Wilde, Hemingway, Twain, Dickens, Poe, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Woolf, Vonnegut, Orwell, Austen, Tolstoy, Carrol, Dickenson, Eliot, Lee, Doyle, Asimov, Shelley, the list goes on," she blushed deeply.

"Only English, or are there others?" Reid asked, interested.

"Oh, er- well I can only read English, but I speak other languages fluently," she replied. "Yourself?"

"Um, well I speak several, Russian among them."

"No way, so I could have a conversation with you, in Russian, and you'd understand?" she asked. He nodded in response. "Pochemu by vam ne nravitsya Harry Potter?" _Why don't you like Harry Potter?_

"Potomu chto eto dayet lyudyam lozhnoye chuvstvo real'nosti. Tam net veroyatnaya prichina , pochemu gigant budet stuchat' v vashu dver' i predlagayem vam vozmozhnost' byt' master" he replied. _Because it gives people a false sense of reality. There's no plausible reason why a giant would knock on your door and offer you the option of being a wizard._

"Da, no shansy byt' v jedi vysoki ?" She smirked. _Oh, but the odds of being a *Jedi* are high?_

"Razve tol'ko mne , ili vy , kazhetsya, mnogoye v strane , teper', kogda my govorim po-russki?" He egged her on. _Is it just me, or do you seem to much at home, now that we're speaking in Russian?_

"Ey, ya pytayus' , chtoby sootvetstvovat' zdes'" she laughed back. _Hey, I'm trying to fit in here_

"Chto delat', yesli vy tayno russkiy shpion ? Chto delat', yesli vy yavlyayetes' chast'yu Sovetskogo Soyuza?" he joked. _What if you're secretly a Russian spy? What if you're part of the Soviet Union?_

"YA rodilas', kogda Sovet byl zhiv, i ya pro- kommunist" she said._ I was born when the Soviet was alive, and I am pro-communist._

"Vy shutite" Reid laughed. _You're joking_

"Net, politika nikogda ne shutka" she remarked. _No, Politics is never a joke_

"Li Hotch znat'?" he asked. _ Does Hotch know?_

"Zavisit ot togo, ili ne vy skazat' yemu" she replied meekly. _Depends on whether or not you tell him_

"Come on lovebirds, Hotch needs us" Morgan said. What the pair didn't know was that he and Callahan were observing the entire conversation. He turned to Kate, "do you like her?" he asked.

"She's funny, cute, and intelligent. A perfect match for our Doctor, don't you think?" she replied. Morgan nodded, smiling as the pair took their seat. They watched the door as the young ones walked in, deep in conversation.

"- the day you read the entire series, you'll change your mind" Charlotte replied as she took a seat.

"But you have to watch Star Wars," Reid pleaded, as he sat next to her. "Then we'll have a potential deal."

"Where the hell do you get the films from though?" she asked.

"I own them if you'd like to borrow them" he replied.

"Fine, then you can borrow my copies of Harry Potter. How many films are there for Sith World?" she asked.

"Six, which should be watched in the order of the events of what happened in the Star Wars universe; _Phantom Menace_, _Attack of the Clones_, _Revenge of the Sith_, _New Hope_, _Empire Strikes Back_, and _Return of the Jedi_. Each are around 125 minutes, for a combined total of 13 hours and 14 minutes. That is, without factoring the person going to the washroom, taking a break, or switching the DVDs."

"Bloody hell. I haven't even watched a full LoTR flim yet" she sighed.

"YOU"VE NEVER WATCHED LORD OF THE RINGS?" Reid yelled. "But you stated that you read Tolkien."

"Mate the movies are so boring. I can't get through them. The books are much more eventful," she replied solemnly.

"I'm making you watch those. It's a promise," Reid said, making her groan. "I will sit next to you and make sure you don't close your eyes and zone off."

"Okay you two. Let's get back to business, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Well, if you look up at the screen you can see two men, Gerrard Smith age 37 and Jon Atorty age 35 were both found dead in Galveston, Texas. Both were disemboweled, and left in public places with their organs placed around the body. Galveston PD still don't have any leads, and another man Jeremy Print was reported missing almost two hours ago after his girlfriend stated that he hadn't come home from work," she replied.

"Wheels up in 20" Hotch said, as he picked up his iPad. The other filed out of the room as Garcia sat next to Charlotte in the conference room.

"So, I took the liberty of getting you an iPad, so you can view all the case files. It is synced to the computer at your desk, and your company phone," Garcia said, giving the girl her stuff. "Listen, I know that you're new and everything, but this is my family, and now, you are too. So, like it or not, we're sharers here."

Charlotte looked at the technical analyst, who was decked out in a purple dress with a bright green blazer and yellow jewelry. "Honestly, I thought you were going to be an annoying, sweaty freak whose actual name was Paul Garcia, and you only wore checkered flannel shirts. And I can honestly say, I like this version of you than the one I thought you were going to be. You've made this whole transition a lot easier for me. Thank you," Charlotte said, giving Penelope a hug and standing up.

"Aww, I like you. You're much too nice to be rude to," Penelope replied, standing up as well. "You should probably go back, grab your bag, and get going with the others."

Charlotte nodded and made her way to the door, turning back she said, "thank you, for telling me to bring a bag. It's nice having people looking out for you for once." She left the room, leaving Garcia smiling.

The case was over and the team was flying back to Quantico. Hotch was filling out some reports, Morgan was listening to some music across the aisle from Reid, who was buried in a book. JJ was perched next to Reid having an animated discussion with Kate and Charlotte.

Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the other two woman take over the conversation (they were discussing the latest episode of How to Get Away with Murder). She opened up her small shoulder bag and pulled out a copy of _The Narrative of John Smith_, and opened it up to a dog-eared page.

Spencer looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. He lifted the latch of his bag, pretending to look for something, as he checked to make sure that Charlotte's copy was not his. Of course, Maeve's gift was tucked safely in the bag. Slightly more relaxed, he said, "Why not Sherlock?"

Charlotte smiled, before putting the book down, "it was the missing link in the series so to speak. The story behind it is more compelling than the story contained within." Reid smiled at that.

Morgan pulled off his earphones, "Alright, out with it. I have a few questions for you," he said, looking at Charlotte.

"Me? Why what did I do?" she said, sounding somewhat jumpy.

"We've known each other for about 4 days. What's up with the dark blue hair?" he asked. Charlotte fingered one of the blue curls that framed her face, frowning. "I didn't mean to dreg anything up-" Morgan replied quickly, thinking he had made her upset.

"No, it's erm. Well, I guess it's a thrilling story, depending on how you look at it and who you ask." Everyone on the plane stopped what they were doing. She took a deep breath before she began. "My father worked for the wrong people. Well, he worked for the Mob. The Russian Mob. His friend Rokov was in charge of a training facility that the mafia owned. That was where they trained the offspring of the Mafia," here she gestured to herself. "We were all given a colour based on our status in the facility. People who were good were treated well, and had no colour. If you were being a downright git like myself, then you'd get your head daubed every time you did something wrong. I was one of the worst kids. I'd give everyone cheek, mess things up, start fights, even small riots. So I got daubed with blue, the furthest thing from red, which was considered pure. Rokov would take this coarse paintbrush and grab a bucket of blue paint every time I screwed around. This paint was industrial and fill of toxins, but it didn't matter to him. Rokov'd dip the paintbrush in the can swirl it around to really coat it. He'd grab me by the neck and rake the brush right over my scalp. Burned like hell. This paint, it never comes off. It's caked into my scalp, my pores. My hair grows blue, nothing I can do to change it, believe me, I've tried. Every time I look in the mirror, I get reminded of the pain that slimy little bastard put all the kids through. Doesn't matter now, Rokov got what was coming for him."

"What happened?" whispered Kate.

"One of the kids was about to get his head daubed, and the bastard had him by the scruff of his neck. Apparently the hold was too tight, and the kid started mouthing off at him. So Rokov decides to teach him a lesson and sticks the kids head in a tub of boiling water. You could see the kid's legs flailing around. Rokov was drowning him. But one of the kids had enough and snapped and tried to shove Rokov away from the kid. Obviously this kid was a scrawny little shit, so Rokov gets angry and takes the other kid out of the tub, and shoves the one who came at him away. So this little scrawny git picked up one of the little box cutters, clicked that blade so it was as long as possible, and shoved it right in Rokov's throat. It came out of the other side, covered in blood."

Everyone was quiet, Morgan muttered "damn," Rossi and Hotch were shaking their heads, Kate and JJ were crying silently, and Reid was looking straight at Charlotte, and asked, "what about the kid that was drowning?"

"He died seconds before he was pulled out of the tub. No one cared," she replied sourly.

"And the kid who killed Rokov? What about him?" asked Hotch, as his inner prosecutor came out.

"She's sitting right here," Charlotte replied, looking him in the eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to clear this up, but the stars on the last chapter when Charlotte beats up Morgan is a reference point. If you can't imagine what the move looked like, go on to Youtube and watch the scene where the Black Widow fights those security officers in Iron Man 2, the move happens at 0.36. **

The entire team was quiet as Hotch looked at Charlotte, who was neither looking away nor showing any remorse for what she'd done. "You?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied in as solemn a voice she could muster. Although it had been years since she'd spoken about the event, she was somewhat relieved that she'd told the team now, rather than later, when they'd be more upset by her untruthfulness.

"No one had complained about Rokov prior to this?" JJ asked, looking flabbergasted.

"What would they've said? Everyone was a child, no one would have listened to us," Charlotte's voice said strained and agitated. Her face showed her restlessness as she looked at the others.

"But surely there was someone you could have told?" began Reid. He could tell his words were pressing her buttons and she seemed increasingly angry.

"If there was a viable option, we'd have tried it in the past. Just our luck that the only people we could complain to were the other people in the mafia, and I highly doubt that they'd want to send one of their friends to prison," she spat.

"But maybe if you'd gone to whoever was in charge-" Kate said, attempting to soothe Charlotte down.

She whipped her head around and looked at the older woman in restlessness, "weren't you listening. Rokov WAS in charge. How do you think a conversation like that would have gone? 'Hi, Rokov, the kids and I all agree that you aren't performing to the standards upheld by government laws and statues, so we'll be waiting for your resignation papers." Everyone cracked a smile at that, "Honestly."

"Did you get sent to jail? Was there a trial?" Hotch asked, surprised at the lack of remorse.

"No; the other members of the mafia knew that more questions would be asked if they'd filed a report, so they got rid of the body. My father was livid that I'd killed one of his best friends. That's when my mum decided that we needed to leave." She looked out the window and continued, "a few days later we got word that my father was killed in a raid. Apparently some of the other kids that I was close with thought I'd been killed because of my actions. So they called the police and the facility was raided. Problem was, the mafia caught wind of it and blew the entire building up. With almost everyone associated with it still inside."

"That's one hell of a life," Rossi commentated. "And I thought I was a hard-ass for having friends in the Italian mafia." He noticed the others giving him strange looks "another story for another time."

"See, you need to write books about interesting stuff like that," Charlotte said. "I've read some of the others. None of them have a plot that would amount to the one in a story concerning the mafia and yourself." Rossi laughed as everyone shared a small smile.

"Did you ever-uhm- kill anyone else?" Reid asked, somewhat scared, yet fascinated. Morgan, Kate, and JJ all leaned in as Rossi sat back and continued to sleep, and Hotch went to the washroom.

"Well, I pulled the trigger of the gun that killed my mum, so yeah, I guess you could say that I killed her too. Not to mention several others." They all looked shocked.

"But, you don't seem at all bothered by this" Kate observed.

"Am I supposed to? I was trained by people who killed without needing a legitimate reason to do so. I was taught not to feel anything, and I guess you could say that I was taught well," she replied.

"With all this, your history and everything, how did the FBI hire you? They do background checks and everything, I know for a fact-" Morgan began.

"I was honest with them. When they asked me for a background check I told them exactly what I've told you, and more. I guess you might as well know the whole story, just so that you know who-as Garcia put it- is joining your family. I had my law, medical, and engineering degrees, but they were all used in the wrong ways. I was taught how to fight, and combined with my knowledge of the other three subjects-" she said before Reid interrupted.

"You were an assassin?" he said, shocked by the past of the woman sitting in front of him. The woman that he couldn't help but think he shared much in common with. The woman who was already beginning to make him feel things he'd only felt when he thought about Maeve.

"Yes, and a high paid one at that. Of course I only used it to fund things after my adoptive family died. There were about 3 years until my inheritance kicked in, so I had to find a way to live. That was it," she replied, smiling. "But the thing was, I was never an assassin for the bad guys. I worked with organizations such as the UN, Scotland Yard, MI6, and Interpool. They paid me to work with them, and _take out_ people that were being a hindrance to the greater population. Of course, I never killed them unless I was specifically told to. I just dropped them at the office and let the organization do its job."

"That's some Batman shit," Morgan said, laughing along with the others, who'd registered that the woman was in a lighter mood, and was telling them this with a smile rather than a frown.

"Ah- I prefer Marvel, but the compliment is nice," she replied, as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. Slowly she pulled out a pair of earphones, placed them in her ears, picked up her book, and continued reading without a care in the world. The others, too, slowly began returning to where they were, except for one.

Reid was still eyeing the new girl with great interest. She was funny, that went without a second thought. She shared many, if not all of the same interests he shared. Clearly she had no problem dealing with the guilt of the lives she'd taken in her past. It was the latter that bothered him the most. That, and the fact that she was most definitely out of his league, where looks were concerned. Morgan would have had a better shot with her, had he not already shown signs of being in a committed relationship with an unknown individual.

"Hey-hey kid" Morgan whisper-yelled at Reid, who slowly turned around, eyebrows raised. "She's nice, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. So?" Reid asked.

"So? We can all see you looking at her, just ask," he replied, laughing as he placed his earphones back in his ears and closed his eyes before Reid could say or do anything.

Reid huffed slightly before picking up his own novel, riffling through the pages and pretending to read. He was actually mulling over what Morgan had just said. _Just ask_, he remembered. _Doesn't seem like anything too big to say. But honestly, I have no idea how to speak to women, more importantly really pretty women. Were their rules? Guidelines? A manual, perhaps?_ He was jolted from his deep thoughts by someone knocking on the cover of his book. He moved it down slightly, and saw Charlotte leaning towards him, a slight smile on her lips.

"Next time you want to look nonchalant, try to keep the book the right way up," she said, turning the book the right way around. She picked her abandoned novel up and continued.

Reid blushed deeply and continued to read. He looked at Morgan from behind his novel. The man was trying not to laugh, but a small smile was creeping onto his lips. "Shut up," Reid mumbled.

They hobbled out of the elevator and through the glass doors of the BAU. Garcia stood by Charlotte's bullpen and was thoroughly relieved to see the rest of the team was back for their trip, safe and sound. Charlotte gave Garcia a nod, "How're you?"

"Fantastic. Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of seeing where you live, just so I could sent some stuff to you, you know as a housewarming present. I found out that your furniture was sent in on Tuesday, and I got it all delivered to your apartment. The bed has been moved into place, so have the sofas, and the appliances. I got your fridge stocked with the usual stuff, but I found out that you love Flake Chocolate, so I made sure to get some extra. Also, I got some local take-out menus, just in case you didn't feel up to cooking."

"Do you breathe?" Charlotte asked, giving Garcia a hug, "thanks once again, for everything.

"Aww, no problem. I take care of those around me," she said, shimmying off to her office.

"She's a handful," Morgan said, looking at Garcia making her way through the doors.

"But she's truly incredible," Charlotte replied. She sat down at her desk, and began filling out a few of the reports she'd received over the last few days. However an hour went by, and no one was being entirely productive, save for Reid and Charlotte. The two finished the last of their reports and tossed them into the 'out' bin with a flourish. Charlotte gazed around at her dull cubicle, pulled out the pins and photos she'd been planning on tacking up, and set to work. On the front wall, she plastered various images from trips she'd taken, postcards, and a few other photos. As she dug around her go-bag for any stray photos her hand hit something hard. Slowly she pulled it out, a rectangular box wrapped up in brown packing paper, with something heavy inside. Upon seeing it, she remembered instantly what was inside, and promptly asked Reid for a boxcutter.

"Here," he said, passing it over the wall of the cubicle. She quickly passed him his remaining push pins.

"Thanks, I'll only be a moment with it," she replied, as she began cutting through the thick duct tape. Slowly, she pulled out a black frame from the box and turned it over to see the front.

Around an image of the _Doctor Who_ logo, were the signatures of all twelve Doctors; William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and the newest incumbent Peter Capaldi. Smiling to herself, she put the framed photo down.

"I didn't know people could be so fond of scribbles" Kate said, smiling at Charlotte's reaction to the picture.

"Oh no, these scribbles mean something. They're autographs. I collect them for any series that I like. I have a _Harry Potter_ one, _Lord of the Rings_-which is just Tolkien's signature, _Chronicles of Narnia_, _Marvel_, _DC,_ and _Doctor Who_," she replied, passing Kate the frame.

"Nice," the woman replied, passing it over to Morgan, JJ, and then Reid, who nearly had a heart attack.

"You got all TWELVE to sign this?" he exclaimed, holding the frame as though it were made of pure gold. "I thought that was near impossible," he continued as he passed it back to her.

"I thought so too, that was until I managed to track them all down. I got the first few from past conventions, but the last four were a pain in the ass to get. Well, not so much Tennant's, seeing as he was at Comic Con a while back," she slid the frame back into her bag. "How long are you lot going to stay around here, because I'm hungry like the wolf, and could use some good food." She got up and threw her leather jacket on.

The others nodded, and followed suit. "Hey Hotch, wanna join us for some dinner?"

"Sorry, as much as I'd like to, I have to go home to Jack. He had a bad case of the flu when I left, so I want to make sure he's okay," Hotch replied as he stood on the walkway.

"I'll join you guys," Rossi said, throwing on his jacket, turning of the lights, and shutting the door of his office. "I want to get to know Russia a bit more."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're referring to me rather than the country," she replied sardonically as they left the BAU office, laughing.

Garcia walked up to the group, "dinner?" Charlotte asked. "It's the least I could do since you've done so much for me these past few days."

"I love you girl" Penelope said, linking arms with her as they marched into the elevator. "So where are we heading to?"

"How about Slim Ricks?" Morgan said, "Russia could use a nice American hamburger."

"Meatless, mate."

Morgan looked at her in shock, "you're, you're a- a-."

"Veggie, mate. I'm sorry," she laughed as they all stepped out of the elevator and into the dimly lit parking lot. "Directions?"

"Out onto the main road, just keep following the road, keep to the right lane, and you'll see it on the right hand side," Morgan said, pulling out his keys and heading over to his car.

Reid clambered into his old Volvo. He heard the loud fire of a motorcycle, and thought to himself, _no way." _Almost instantaneously, a motorcycle zoomed by him, but not before he caught a glimpse of the blue hair flying behind a bright red helmet, in the dull lamplight. He quickly shifted his car into gear and followed behind.

Charlotte slid in and out of traffic, and managed to catch up to the others, she'd stopped by at one of the gas stations to fill up, and continued along the road. She looked to her right until the bright red neon sign was visible. Smiling to herself, she turned into the lot, and did a hairpin turn into one of the last empty spots, which happened to be next to Reid's car.

As he got out of his car, he couldn't help but do a double take. She'd managed to slip into a tight fitting black leather jumpsuit. It made her body look a little slimmer, but her breasts, waist, and hips were still curvy. She slid off her helmet allowing her long curly hair to tumble behind her back, jumped off the bike, and hit the lock button. "What?" she asked, looking behind her.

"Oh, I was just looking at your bike?" Reid lied. "A Bonneville Triumph? I didn't know they still made those?" The pair began walking towards the doors.

"No, they don't. I bought this one while it was smashed to pieces. The previous owner had a really bad crash and didn't get around to fixing it. I had my past experience, and I know enough about bikes to fix them, so I bought it off of him. Wasn't too expensive considering its condition," she said, thanking Reid for opening the door for her.

They spotted Kate, Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and Rossi at one of the larger tables. They each grabbed a seat, wrapped both hands in a napkin and picked up the menu, oblivious to the looks they were receiving from the others.

Morgan leaned over to Rossi and whispered, "Freaky, right?"

"No, this is more than freaky. They're perfect for each other. It's only a matter of time," he replied, smirking. "So" he said loudly, turning to all of them, "what do you guys want to drink?"

The waitress, hearing Rossi's announcement, laughed and said "well since you're offering," causing them all to laugh. "But really, what would you guys like to drink?"

"I'll have a beer," Morgan said.

"Same," replied Reid.

"A Raspberry Clinger" replied Garcia.

"I'll have the same" said JJ.

"Me too" added Kate.

"Do you happen to carry any Pinot Noir?" asked Charlotte.

"Yes, we do" the waitress replied.

"Yeah I'll have a bottle," Charlotte replied.

"I'll join her with the Noir," Rossi said, as the waitress left. "Good taste," he remarked.

"If you like that, you should see my collection," she replied, taking a sip of her water.

The last fry had been dipped, the last drop drunk, and soon everyone was stuffed to the point of exploding, and prepared to go home for a good night's sleep.

"Ah, now this is a feeling I haven't felt in a long time," Rossi replied. He'd drank a majority of the bottle and planned on catching a ride with JJ.

Charlotte was laying back on her chair, smiling blindly. She wasn't drunk, having only drank what Rossi had left in the bottle (which was roughly the contents of a juicebox).

"What's up, Russia?" Morgan said, looking at the woman who was smiling lazily.

"It's been almost ten years since I've sat at a table with another human being," she replied. "Normally it used to just be me alone. No one wanted to associate themselves with an alcoholic Russian assassin. Nah, I was best left alone. Now, now I enjoy your company, and I've only known you for a few days. It's good, it's nice. I like it."

Everyone laughed at the simplicity of her comment. Reid frowned slightly, "if you were an alcoholic, then why are you drinking?"

"Mate, lighten up. I've done my self-reflecting, and fixed the errors of my ways. I can control my drinking. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't. I have some self-control," she laughed. They all threw down some money to cover their bill and headed out to the lot.

Saying their goodbyes, they each started their cars, and headed off, except for two of them.

Reid got into his car and fired up the engine. Or at least he attempted to. The engine backfired a few times, before failing completely. Reid buried his hands in his face. The car had been doing that for a while now, and just his luck, it had to break down when he needed it most. He was jolted from his self-pity session by the sound of someone tapping on the window. He looked up and saw Charlotte. He rolled down the window to allow her to speak.

"There's smoke coming out from the hood. Lift it up and let me take a look," she said, heading to the front of the car. He obliged and hit the button, allowing it to open. Clambering out of his car, leaving the door open, he walked around to the front and stood next to Charlotte, who opened the bonnet fully.

There in the centre of the system was the problem. Smoke was emitting from the engine, so much so, that the creators of Puff the Magic Dragon could film black Puff the Magic Dragon. Waving the smoke away, Charlotte, bent down examining the engine fully. "Well you've got a couple of problems here. The engine's been dying out slowly, you haven't oiled it enough."

"But oiled it a few days ago," Reid said.

"Yeah, and that oil has seeped out of the fill, and been dripping onto the pistons, causing those to dry up. This, in turn, means that when you were driving the car, there was too much strain on the pistons. My guess is that this all stems from one problem: there's no gasket between the oil cover and rims." She straightened up, and looked at Reid

He threw his hands up in the air, "I knew there was no gasket when I bought the car a few years back. I just believed I'd get around getting a new one. Slowly I forgot, and just never bothered because the car was running perfectly. Well, till now that is."

"You should get your stuff out from the car. We'll call the towing company and get it to a garage," Charlotte said pulling out her phone. Reid obliged and pulled out his shoulder bag, slamming the door of the Volvo shut in anger.

Ending the call Charlotte said, "They'll be here in five. But because of all the damage and the fact that it's almost eleven thirty at night, they won't get around to fixing it till tomorrow."

"Better go call a taxi," Reid said, pulling out his phone.

Charlotte laughed. "Oh, for a genius you sure are oblivious. I have a bike, and an extra helmet. Now tell me your address and let's get you home safely."

"Oh, really, it's alright. I don't want to inconvenience you-" Reid began, but shut up quickly as Charlotte took his bag and passed him the spare helmet.

"I will tell you when you are being an inconvenience, alright?" she replied, strapping his bag to the side of her bike. She picked up her helmet and got on, the bike. "I told Triple A where the lot is and the model and plate of your car. They'll pick it up, and phone you in the morning around seven to let you know about your car." She placed her helmet on her head and started the engine. Turning to Reid, she said, "Helmet on, butt to the seat."

Reid obliged quickly and slid the helmet on, and scrambled onto the bike.

"Alright, what's your address?" she asked.

Reid found himself able to hear her clearly. The girl had managed to install a microphone and speakers into the helmets, which allowed the riders to communicate. "Uhm, it's the Capital Plaza Apartments," he replied.

"No way, that's right across from my building," she replied happily. "Now I'm going to warn you, hold on tight and enjoy the music. Oh and please oh please, do not tell me how to drive. I hate backseat drivers."

"My lips are sealed," Reid said, as he nervously placed his hands around her waist.

Charlotte smiled to herself, and hit the acceleration. Almost simultaneously Reid held on to her a little tighter as AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill blared through the speakers in the helmet.

She flew through the streets, through lanes, and managed to get the pair home in a record 10 minutes.

Pulling up to a parking spot shared between her building and Reid's, the pair hopped off the bike (Reid gladly) and Charlotte began undoing the straps holding Reid's bag to her bike.

"Thanks for the ride," he said, taking his bag from her gratefully. He slung it over his shoulders. "I particularly enjoy your taste in music," he said jokingly as he passed her the spare helmet that she tossed into the empty side bag.

"Hey, my taste in music is actually appreciated by the vast majority of Americans," she joked back, as she picked up her own bag and tossed her helmet along with the spare. She locked up the bike, and it was then that she realized that she and Reid were standing alone, in the parking lot. Alone. She recognized this, and instantly became very self-conscious of, not only her own moves, Reid's as well. "So-er- this is where you live?" she asked gesturing to the building behind Reid. The simple brownstone had an air of authenticity. "It looks nice."

"Oh, yeah it is. So that's you?" he replied back, looking past Charlotte's shoulder to the more modern and sleek building behind her.

"Mmhmm, yeah" she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Apartment 23B, or home as I now call it."

"Yeah, mine's Apartment 23, a tiny little space, but home nonetheless," he replied.

The two took in the moment of awkward silence.

"Thanks for the ride, the least I could do is invite you to my place for some coffee, or tea" Reid asked, offering her his arm.

"Oh, er, sure" she replied taking it. The two marched on to the building, through the doors and up the tiny little staircase in the centre.

Reid stopped at a dark green door, with peeling gold lettering that spelt out 27A. He fumbled around with his keys for a moment before opening the door, and letting her in before him. _She's in my apartment. MY APARTMENT_ a voice inside Reid's head squealed. He shut the door behind him and led her to the small kitchen, where he offered her a seat before making his way to the kettle.

"Very quaint," she remarked, unzipping her jumpsuit slightly. She looked around at the various knick-knacks, books, and bits and bobs strewn around the apartment.

"Oh, you can, er, take a look around," Reid said, hoping that didn't sound as squeak-ish as he thought it did.

Charlotte stood up and walked around the small little living room. A wall was covered solely in books, yet a huge stack was placed next to it. Careful not to knock anything over, she made her way to the shelves and examined the man's taste in literature. "So is there anything from this century," she joked, thanking him for the cup of tea he'd just passed her. "Or is it only fifteenth century literature that appeals to you?"

"My mom was a professor of 15th century literature," Reid replied, looking at the books. "These all belonged to her, until she gave them to me."

"Oh, I see,'' Charlotte said, as he led her around to the large brown sofa in the centre of the room. She perched herself on the edge. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that Reid wasn't too comfortable around her. She felt the same, but for different reasons. "Is she still around?" Charlotte asked, looking at a photo of a woman standing with Spencer. She had a feeling that it was his mother; they both shared the same eye colour, facial features, and they both loved each other very much.

"Yeah, she still lives in Vegas," he replied, fiddling around with the handle of his mug.

"You're from Vegas?" she asked, somewhat shocked. Reid didn't seem like someone who'd come from a place where drinking and shagging women was a norm.

"Uh, yeah. I was born there, and lived there until I decided to join the FBI, now I just go back to visit my mom," he replied, feeling that telling her a little about himself was the least he could do after learning of the shocking life Charlotte led.

"And your father?" she asked politely and nervously, not knowing what the answer would be.

"Oh, he-um- left when I was a kid. My mother is a paranoid schizophrenic and her condition took a toll on him, so he left. I took care of her till I was eighteen. I chose to send her to the Bennington Sanitarium, where she currently lives," he said in one breath. He knew she'd end up figuring it out sooner or later, and preferred that she learn the truth from him, rather than another member.

"That pretty much sucks," she replied, taking a sip of her tea in deep thought. "I don't mean to pry, but what about a girlfriend? I know it seems a little personal to ask, considering I've just met you."

"Oh, well, I don't have one," he replied as he took a gulp of hot tea, which burned his throat. _If I could fall into hell right now, that'd be great_ he thought.

"Who is she?" Charlotte asked, noticing the look on Reid face. He looked in pain, and Charlotte recognized it immediately. It was the same face she'd make when someone asked about anything in her past. "I mean, the girl who left," she nodded over to a small frame on the mantle of the fireplace. A small picture depicted a woman, roughly the same age as Reid (minus a few years), with long brown hair, and warm brown eyes. A faint blush was present on the woman's cheeks.

"How'd you –" he began, feeling slightly pressed, yet in awe. He walked over to the mantle, picked up the frame and passed it to her. "Her name was Maeve."

"Was?" she replied, looking at the photograph.

"She's dead" he said bluntly. "We met because I'd been suffering with headaches, and my doctor advised me to reach out to a geneticist. She helped me through them, and prescribed me some pills, and slowly we began talking more and more. She was interested in the same stuff as me, just as smart as me, and incredibly funny. Eventually I found out she had a stalker, who caused her to never leave her house, and thus, I never saw her in person. Almost ten months into our relationship, she was kidnapped. So, the team and I tried to find her, and when we did, we found out that her stalker was actually a woman, who was jealous of Maeve's intelligence. I tried to trade my life for hers, but her stalker committed suicide, taking Maeve with her." He took a breath, and collapsed back onto the sofa, breathing heavily, and covering his face with his hands.

"Bloody hell," Charlotte replied, looking at the man beside her in wonder. _How does this kid even get out of bed in the morning?_

"It was," he sighed, picking his mug up again and taking a shaky sip. "And that is why I don't have a girlfriend. Of course this all happened two years, five days, and 3 hours ago. But it still feels like yesterday."

"I know what you mean. It just happens, but years later it's still there. Like it's been branded on your brain forever. There's no escape," she said sadly, patting Reid on the back. Charlotte was never particularly good at comforting people, and it was moments like these that she would most often screw up and look like a downright ass.

"There is an escape, but it's not a path I'd like to venture down again," Reid mumbled.

"Drugs," Charlotte answered. "Or alcohol. Sometimes both."

Reid looked up at her and smiled. "Both?" he asked.

"Yeah, I used to use both. You knew it was going to be a shitty day when the first of those memories comes up. So I used to curl up on the sofa, a book on my left, some heroin on the right, and a nice ol' glass of gin and tonic in my hand," she said wistfully. "I try not to miss it, but sometimes . . ." she trailed off.

The pair sat there in complete silence, each mulling over memories that had caused them pain in both the past and present. Suddenly, Charlotte stood up, "I should probably get home. I mean its Friday night and I still haven't fully set all of my furniture up yet."

Reid took her empty cup and placed it in the sink as Charlotte grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, "thanks for everything," she said, making her way to the door.

Before Reid had a moment to ask _for what_, his mind changed and he said, "If you still need some help moving the furniture around, I'll help."

"Thanks, that'd actually be really nice. Is tomorrow okay?" she asked. Reid nodded. "Do you think any of the others would like to help? Where I'm from, it's a sort of requirement that you invite your co-workers and boss to your home for dinner."

"Yeah, they'll be there. How's 1 o clock?" he said, as he opened his door for her.

"That's perfect. Oh and thanks again for, well, everything. It's nice working with people who really _understand _you," she said. Before she could stop herself, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked down the staircase.

"Bye," Reid yelled.

"I'm not leaving the country mate," her voice yelled back.

Reid shut the door and immediately changed and jumped into bed. _Jeez, I have to wait twelve more hours until I get to see her again._ He rolled over and tried to sleep, but something inside him kept on stirring.

Charlotte tossed her bag onto the ground of her half-assed apartment, slid her shoes off, and locked her door. _This little turning lock thing won't cut it_ she thought. Sighing, she made her way to her room, and laid down on the bed, which was still missing the sheets. Without changing, she curled up and fell asleep. _Damn, I have to wait eleven hours and forty minutes until I get to see him again. _


	3. Chapter 3

"So where do we start?" Morgan asked, looking around the apartment as he took off his jacket. He and Reid were the first two people that had arrived. Charlotte and Reid were already moving around some of the lighter things, such as shelves, chairs, desks, and sofas.

Morgan was a guy, so there was no denying that he wasn't going to check Charlotte out. Reid hadn't made a move, and Morgan wasn't going to. But he was a sucker for a girl in black leggings, especially if those leggings had some sleek vertical mesh panels and the woman wearing them had some nicely toned legs. Her grey sports bra was just visible through the loose red tank top she was wearing. Her hair was swirled up into a simple bun at the top of her head. How Reid had managed himself around her was a surprise.

"Well," Charlotte began as she flipped through a little book on the mantle, "I was going to set up the pool table in the middle of this room." She jerked her head to the right, where a large, open space had already been cleared.

"I like the colour scheme," JJ mumbled as she and Garcia entered the room. JJ was on to something. The apartment was sleek and sophisticated, yet there was a tinge of antiquity to the place. The dark red walls paired nicely with the crown molding was coated in a brass colour, which actually gave of the illusion of being pure gold. The floors were simple hardwood, and stone tile for the kitchen and washrooms. One side of the wall was a window, which gave the owner a view of the other apartments off to the side (one of them being Reid's building, as well as the window to his apartment) and in the background was the skyline of the small city.

"Thanks. The paint was the first thing I did when I moved in. None of the furniture was in, so it was pretty easy to do," Charlotte said. "So, who wants to help with the table?" she asked, gesturing to a large box in the centre of the room.

"Depends, do we get to use it?" Rossi laughed, as he and Hotch came through the front door.

"I dunno, do you know how?" she said cocking an eyebrow, hinting at Rossi's age.

The Italian rolled his eyes and smiled at the girl, "my people are the reason that this floor doesn't give you splinters," he replied.

"I'd say that's racist, but it's your people so" Charlotte shrugged as she and Reid began tearing the box open.

While the pair attacked it the others noticed something. Charlotte was more excited and aggressive, she ignored the boxcutter and used her nails to cut the tape. While the edges gave a hint as how to open the box, she tore the cardboard open, disregarding the actual openings. Reid was the complete opposite, he opened every side properly, slid out the materials and organized them according to the manual. He was going by-the-book. Yet the two seemed to share a strange bond as they both knew exactly what the other was doing without looking.

"Oi, you lot can open this shit too. It's not fair for the both of us to open all of the presents," Charlotte said, as Reid laughed.

The others set to work, tearing open boxes, assembled, and rearranged the furniture according to the book that Charlotte had consulted previously. Apparently she'd planned the layout of everything beforehand. But not only was the furniture planned out, but the location of the various shelves, paintings, rugs, and the numerous knick-knacks she'd collected through her years.

It was only when the clock struck four that they all felt the small snacks and drinks were not cutting the amount of energy they needed to output.

"Okay," Charlotte said, looking at the team. They were all splayed out throughout the main room, either passed out on the sofas, the floor, or the hammock in the corner. "I see that we are all in need of a little nourishment," she observed, as she navigated her way to the kitchen.

"Oh, let me help," JJ said, getting up from her spot on the sofa.

"No, you've done enough. The least I could do is cook a nice meal. Now, who wants Indian?" she said, looking around the room.

"Sounds good to me" they all replied. "Where should I get it from," Morgan asked.

Charlotte looked at him, smirking. "I said I was going to cook."

"Wait-you're going to cook Indian food?" Kate said, turning her body to face Charlotte.

"Yeah. My adoptive parents were Indian. The first thing they taught me to do was cook. I mean, how else was I going to get married?" she said sarcastically.

The group sat quietly as the sizzling sound of food being made echoed through the apartment, with the smell wafting through the air. "Mmm," JJ said.

Morgas stomach groaned loudly, "Hey Honey, hurry up in there."

"Darling, perhaps if you'd gone to work I'd have a reason to rush," she replied jokily. She threw on a pair of gloves and pulled out a sheet of naans from the oven, and placed them on the newly assembled table. She did the same for the lentil soup, mixed vegetables, and butter chicken. Slowly the group moved from the living room into the kitchen.

"Russia cooked up a feast," Rossi said, as he sat down. The others nodded in agreement and began to pour out heaping helpings of the various dishes.

"Hold on, how about a toast?" Hotch said, passing her a bottle of champagne he'd bought along with him.

"What are we celebrating?" Charlotte said, smiling as she took the bottle gratefully.

"Your arrival into our family," he replied, walking over to the kitchen. "Do you happen to have a corkscrew?" He asked.

"No, but" she began making her way to one of the boxes. She opened it up, and shifted some of the Styrofoam peanuts around till she found what she was looking for "I have this." From the box she pulled out a long, double-edged sliver sword, with a ruby encrusted hilt, "It's a replica-."

"Of Godric Gryffindor's Sword from the Chamber of Secrets," Reid said, eyeing the sword with awe. "How'd you get it?"

"At the Warner Brothers Studios when I went on a tour of the film set. How'd you know that it was Gryffindor's Sword?" she asked, making her way back to the table.

"I read the first two books when you were cooking," he replied sheepishly.

"Ah, I'd wager you have an eidetic memory in order to remember the exact details of this sword without seeing any of the films. And judging by the amount of time it took for you to read all two books, you can probably read about 80,000 words per minute." He looked at her in awe, "if my math is correct, that is."

"How-" began Reid.

"Did" said JJ.

"You" added Hotch.

"Know" interjected Morgan.

"That?" Kate finished.

"Damn" Rossi said.

"I'm smart," she replied picking up the champagne bottle from the countertop. "And Garcia told me," she added.

"Oh."

Charlotte picked up the bottle with her left hand, holding it from the bottom, with the top facing outward.

"Are you going to-" Rossi began, looking at the woman in awe.

"Yes. Yes I am," Charlotte replied. With the sword in her right hand, she placed the blade along the side of the bottle and quickly slid it along the edge, slicing the top -cork and all- from the bottle. She placed the sword on the counter, turned to the others, and bowed. "Fighting isn't the only thing the mafia taught me."

She poured out a glass for everyone, "to family," she said.

"Friends" added Garcia.

"Food" Morgan yelled.

"Bottoms up" said Rossi, and they all clinked glasses.

"Is that the last piece?" Reid asked, as Charlotte placed the Doctor Who frame on the mantle.

"Yes," she replied.

The clock next to the picture read "6:00."

"We're going to get going. But it was a fantastic meal, honestly" said Hotch, as he passed the others their coats from the closet.

"I'm coming back for more of that deliciousness," Morgan said, giving Charlotte a hug.

"Count me in" Garcia said, hugging Charlotte as well.

"Lemme get some too" Kate added, hugging the other three.

"Okay" said Charlotte's muffled voice, "let's make it a group affair."

The others gravitated in, Reid, somewhat hesitantly. Slowly, they exited the home.

Sighing Charlotte turned around, and was surprised to see Reid standing behind her, staring around the room. "Thanks for helping," she said, patting him on the back.

"You haven't got any personal photos," he said bluntly. "Of anyone."

"Well, I didn't have any friends. Not with the job I had before," she replied, taking a seat on the sofa. She was surprised when Reid joined her.

"But what about school? Graduation? Prom? Anything?" he asked.

"School was a quiet affair. No one wanted to talk to a Russian. I never went to commencement, which sort of hints that prom is out of the question," she said.

"After that?" he inquired.

"Well, the most important thing an assassin needs to hide besides the body, is their face."

Reid laughed heartily, "You know, you're one of the first people that I have met that hasn't made me feel like I'm an antisocial nerd."

"Who calls you an- Morgan?" she said.

"Yep," he replied. He scanned the room one more time, "no boyfriends?"

"No."

"What? Did you kill any potential candidates?" he asked, getting up and making his way to the door.

She got up and followed him, "No, I outsmarted them." She unlocked the lock, chain lock, bolted lock, and coded lock, opening the door.

Reid looked at her, "paranoid much?"

"No, I just don't fancy getting killed in my sleep," she said as he exited the apartment. He looked back at her. A small smile was present on her usually plain face.

"Afraid of dying?" he said, with a small smirk of his own.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "No, more like the fear of being recognized," she said. "Goodnight, Doctor." She said, as a curtain of blue hair shrouded the right side of her face.

"Night" he replied, as she shut the door. He could hear the faint clicks of a lock begin turned. Smiling to himself, he continued down the hall.

"And then what happened?" Morgan asked excitedly as he poured himself some coffee.

Reid shook his head in disbelief, "I left. What did you expect to happen?" he asked, as the pier walked back to their desks. The usually bustling office was quiet as the members of the BAU trickled in. So far, Morgan and Reid were the only two people present. Hotch was there too, but that went without saying. The man dedicated every fiber in his being to this place.

"I thought that the Doctor may have gotten a little bit of a- ah- check up," he replied mischievously.

Reid gave him a disgusted look before turning to the "IN" box at his desk. Flipping through some of the files, he heard the click of high heels. Looking up, he saw Garcia in a neon yellow trench coat approach him.

"So, what happened last night?" she asked, wiggling an eyebrow at Reid.

He rolled his eyes "nothing," and turned back to his work, ignoring the pair.

Garcia turned to Morgan and mouthed, "what's up his ass?"

"A stick" he replied silently, causing them both to smile. Garcia left the office to go to her own, and with a wink, she left.

A few moments later, another woman, brunette appeared. Callahan looked at Reid who, although he was staring at an open file, didn't seem to be absorbing any of its contents. "So, how was your Sunday evening?" she asked as she made her way to her cubicle.

Reid gave her a look that conveyed the message, "_F*** off_._"_

Morgan turned to Kate laughing, "don't say anything," he whispered.

"Oh," Kate said, a look of comprehension dawning her face. Just as she got to work, the door of the BAU opened for the third time.

Rossi walked in, "Reid, my boy-" and instantly shut up as Reid looked at him. "Jesus, it was that bad?" H asked, patting Reid on the back

"It-Didn't-Happen" Reid replied tensely.

Rossi quickly removed his hand, and made his way to his office, stopping to exchange a look with Morgan and Kate. Just as he entered his office and Reid began to work once more, the office door opened for the fourth time, as JJ walked in. "So?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at the young agent.

"NO" he said in frustration, slamming his pencil down, along with his head.

Looking over Reid's back, Morgan shook his head and mimed explosions (much to the amusement of the others. JJ went over to her cubicle and sat down, laughing. A few minutes passed and the doors opened for the final time, as Charlotte walked in.

"Hey-" she began, but was instantly interrupted by Reid.

He whipped his head up from his desk, not bothering to look at who'd just entered. "No. For the last time, I didn't sleep with Charlotte. Honestly, you guys have no respect for anyone's privacy!" he said angrily as he picked up his pencil and continued to write. Hotch, Rossi, and Garcia had come into the office, and the others that were already there watched in anticipation and amusement.

Charlotte threw her hands up in the air, "Whoa Reid. Hold on one second."

Reid jumped instantly, recognizing her voice. He turned a deep shade of pink and faced Charlotte slowly. "Hi," he muttered meekly.

"'Hi' my ass," she replied, dumping her stuff on her chair. "What's got your knickers in a twist?" she asked, sitting down and looking at Reid from over the low cubicle wall.

"Oh, er-um. Its-a funny story actually," he stuttered. Morgan closed his eyes, it was THAT bad. The others grimaced, and waited for the shit storm of 2015 to begin.

"Funny? People thinking you and I sleeping together is funny? I will never understand American humor. What is it with you lot? Game of Thrones? House of Cards? Do you have no other forms of entertainment? I mean, what has a woman got to do to watch Columbo? Or Murder, She Wrote? I mean, is a coworker sleeping with another co-worker that interesting. Yeah, nothing happened. But good God people, leave the man alone. Anyway, if something ever did happen between us, I highly doubt we'd be screaming it all about at work," she huffed, as she picked up the stack of files in her "IN" box. The others slowly turned back and continued doing their work.

Reid looked up at her, "thanks for –."

Charlotte looked at him for a moment before gesturing to him to follow her out of the office and into one of the smaller and empty halls. She looked at him for a moment before she began. "Oh, don't thank me boy. Really? Is that the type of opinion people have of me? That I'll just sleep with everyone because, hey why the hell not? And honestly, it's not even like the two of us can say that we're up to anything, because we aren't. I think profilers would be able to know if something actually happened. And we'd be able to tell if the other felt like that. But judging by the way that everyone assumes that there's something up, there are only two explanations; a) either we are really bad at our jobs or b)-."

Reid leaned in, "we aren't good at hiding our emotions."


	4. Chapter 4

"So what does this mean?" Charlotte asked, looking at Reid's face for the faintest trace of emotion.

"Well, we both managed to make it this far through our knowledge of the human condition," he began, looking down at Charlotte.

"So, you think it is the latter? That we both like one another?" She asked, hesitantly. She could see through his bodily actions that his emotions had changed. Before, he was lounging around and had an air of relaxation about himself. Now, he seemed slightly more awake, and aware of himself. He had shuffled back slightly, in an attempt to widen the gap between the pair. While before, he was gesturing with his hands, the pair were planted firmly in his pockets.

"Um-well-I-er-um, that's a, uhem, good question," he said, she watched him with curiosity. It felt as though her eyes were speaking to him. _Come on, Reid, Spit it OUT!_ They yelled. Her lips were in a slight pout, and her hands were placed behind her back, where he could tell she was fidgeting.

Suddenly her pout turned into a smile, and her eyes looked more playful. Her hands swung back towards her waist, where she was doubled over, laughing. "Mate, relax. I was just pulling your leg. Honestly, you really are something Doctor," she said as she turned and headed back to the BAU office.

Reid was still standing where she'd left him; confused. _But I didn't even make a joke. WHAT?_ He thought as he watched her walk away with him. Realizing he was standing behind, he quickly caught up with her. "Wait that was a joke?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," she replied, looking up at him as they walked.

"Well, it wasn't very funny," he said as they made their way through the glass doors. They could see the rest of the team making their way to the conference room. _They had a case_.

"I wasn't hired here because of my comedic talent Spencer," she said as the pair made their way to the room.

The two took their respective seats as the rest of the team looked to Garcia to begin the briefing. She took a quick glance at the two, Charlotte nodded to let Garcia begin. "If you haven't been paying attention to the news in the past few weeks, you will learn that there have been five false alarms for bombings in the New York area, with yesterday's attempt being the most recent. Twelve hours prior to the false bomb's detonation time, the local police forces have received anonymous letters from the bombers, stating the time and location of the bomb, which have all been in relatively busy areas. However, patience is wearing thin and the police do not have the resources to keep following these false attacks. We've been called in to catch this son of a bitch. The department hasn't received another letter yet, but since the last letter was sent in yesterday, the next one will be tomorrow. The public doesn't know about these attacks and the government, so us, feels that it should be kept this way."

Hotch flicked through the images on his tablet and announced, "wheels up in twenty." He quickly stood up and looked at Reid and Charlotte, "both of you in my office now," he ordered making his way out of the room before any of the others could say anything.

Morgan whistled "he's going to rip you a new asshole."

"Why? Can't fit any holes on you?" Charlotte replied quickly before heading out of the room.

Morgan turned to Reid, "she's a keeper, Pretty Boy." Reid huffed and marched out of the room after Charlotte.

He entered Hotch's office where the door was promptly shut by their boss. Hotch turned to face the pair who were standing in the office, too scared to touch anything, even the air. The look on his face meant business, "now, I don't really care where the two of you are on the 'friend' scale, but I just want to be clear with you; if something does start between the both of you, I want it understood that this will not affect your ability to perform your job." He sat down in his chair before asking, "is that clear?"

"Crystal," the pair replied as they shuffled to the door.

"Oh and one more thing," Hotch said, as the two stood in the doorway, "Reid; keep her away from the boxcutters," he continued a lightness to his voice. HE smiled at the pair briefly before going back to his work.

They shut the door and went to their respective cubicles, ignoring the inquisitive glares of their co-workers. The time passed slowly as the other skimmed over the files the police department had given them, and they were all on their toes until the plane was ready.

"Let's go over everything we know before we get there, so we don't waste any time," Hotch told the team as they took their seats in the plane. So as not to draw attention to themselves Reid sat next to JJ, while Charlotte was sitting next to Morgan, who looked pleased with himself by the arrangement.

"So this Unsub is going around and planting fake bombs at all the sites, right?" Morgan asked the rest of the team who nodded, "so wouldn't it be possible to find out what materials the Unsub has access to by looking at the composition of the bomb? It says in the report they were all comprised of gunpowder and a small wiring malfunction that could light the powder up. They were all fully functional, but weren't equipped with a detonation time."

Charlotte pursed her lips, "wait, if they weren't equipped with a detonator, then why go through all the trouble to make a bomb that could actually explode? Why not make the shell, but leave it empty. With a chemical and electrical combination like this, the bastard could have lit himself up."

There was silence at this remark, "maybe he was planning on detonating them, but was interrupted by something?" Kate said.

"No, he wants the bombs to be found. The Unsub doesn't want the bombs to go off, he gets off on the control he has over the city," Hotch replied looking over the details of the case with a furrowed brow.

"If he wanted to, he could blow the entire place up in the blink of an eye. The fact that he chooses not to shows some sort of mercy or control. Like he wants to play God," Reid piped up.

"Would it be possible to dismantle one of the bombs? Perhaps he's left some sort of signature on the bomb that we can't see from the outside. It might lead us to the Unsub," Morgan asked, to which Hotch nodded.

"Charlotte, Morgan, you two take care of dismantling the bomb with the bomb squad. Kate and JJ come up with some potential next targets for this Unsub Reid, you can take care of the geographic profile, Rossi and I will go to the last two crime scenes, maybe there's something there that can tell us more than what we know," Hotch ordered.

The team landed in New York running. While Hotch and Rossi headed off to the last crime scene, the others drove down to the Police Department where they were met with a flurry of disgruntled men and women. Suddenly, a man jerked his head out of his office and gave the team a quick look,"BAU?" he asked.

"Yeah," Morgan replied. "Captain Harrods?" he asked. The man nodded and shook hands with the members (save Reid). "Our superiors have gone out to the last bomb site to see if there's anything they can find. They'll be joining us shortly."

"Alright, follow me into my office," Harrods said, to which the others obliged. He shepherded them into the office, where a table and a corkboard were set up. "We don't have any of the spare rooms available, that's where we're housing all those little suckers. Those rooms are proofed, and the only ones that can hold a bomb of that magnitude. So for the meantime, you lot will be living in here. We've got you housed up in the Hilton right across from us."

"Thank you," said the team as the man left them on their own. Morgan and Charlotte headed to the door, "we'll tell you guys if we find anything."

Morgan was examining the small fragmented piece of steel with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass. "Nope, nothing on here," he said, tossing it onto the desk with a sigh as he picked up another.

"How long have we been doing this?" Charlotte asked, as she tossed the piece she was examining into the box they'd coincidentally named "Useless Crap." She picked out another at random and the procedure started again.

"Four almost five hours," a voice boomed from behind them. The pair turned and saw Rossi laughing. "Have you found anything yet?" he asked, taking a seat.

Charlotte gave him a dirty look, while Morgan sarcastically replied, "yeah, we did, but we're going through the other 1,000,000 pieces for fun."

"Ooh, someone isn't in a good mood. Hotch sent me in here to collect you guys. We're going to the hotel for dinner." He stood up and went back to the door. Without turning back, he added "and we're going now."

The pair exchanged looks of relief, gathered their things, and headed out to the other room, where the rest of the team was waiting. Slowly, they threw on their coats, gloves, scarves, and in Rossi's case a woolen hat that looked remarkably similar to a cow's bladder, and walked out into the streets. "Oh sweet baby jesus, I did not realize it was this cold in good old New York," Morgan wheezed, the wind knocking out his breath.

"I thought Canada was where the snow was," Charlotte grumbled as the others smiled weakly, and made their way to the cross lights. Despite the fact that it was cold, it was much quicker and less hassle to walk, than spend more time in the cold trying to clear the snow off the vans, and drive through the wintery mess. They managed to make it into the doors of the Hilton, with minimal hypothermia and frostbite.

"I never thought I'd ever be so excited to be in a Hilton," Rossi muttered as he ripped off his gloves and hat. The group made their way to the front desk, were handed their keys and sent off to their rooms. "We'll meet in the restaurant in half an hour," Hotch said, as they rode up in the elevator.

_Does he really believe in punctuality, whatever the occasion?_ Charlotte thought, looking at Hotch out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, he does" Reid whispered in her ear causing her to jump. No one noticed the interaction between the pair as the elevator doors chimed open. Reid passed Charlotte without another word, and headed off to his room.

Charlotte walked along the row of rooms before coming up to hers, Room 217. It was at this moment that she regretted ever picking up Stephen King's _The Shining. _"For shit's sake. Not even one day goes by where I can be at peace. Nope, nope, not at all." She slid the key card into the lock, and it granted her access to her room for the next few days. Slipping inside, she quickly shut the door and slid the normally never used, chain lock into place. _One can never be too careful, especially in a place as large as New York._ Slowly, she gravitated towards the bed, where, at the foot, her luggage lay. She grabbed some clothes, shrugged the grimy travel clothing she'd been wearing throughout the day off, and clambered into the shower, twisting her hair into the shower cap provided.

_Now, how does this work?_ She asked herself, looking at the knob in the shower. It had no direction of which way made the temperature of the water hot or cool, and there were two different shower heads; the usual one seen in all houses, and one large square head set on the roof of the shower. _Okay, _she thought, as her hand graced the tap. Taking a deep breath, she quickly turned the tap to the left. Her first mistake. Ice cold water drenched her body from both the taps, and her heart almost stopped. "SHIT!" she yelled as she quickly turned the tap to the right. Gradually the water temperature became warmer, and with a smile on her face, she scrubbed herself clean.

Drying herself with the towel, she applied liberal amounts of the hotel's complimentary lotion over her body, to protect her skin from the vicious winter air. She threw on a pair of dark wash jeans, and a long grey cardigan over a white tank top. She undid her hair, and the long blue locks tumbled into large and perfect curls. With a quick hand she applied a small amount of lotion to her face, and a small amount of chapstick to her already red lips. She quickly picked up her phone and key card into her pocket, and slipped on a pair of grey converse before heading out to the hotel's restaurant. Just as she opened her door, the door across from her was flung open as well, "Reid. Morgan." She said, as the two men exited the room.

"You clean up good Russia," Morgan said with a wink, before heading down the hall and turning to the right towards the elevator.

Reid used Morgan's distraction to give Charlotte a long look, "you look nice," he said.

She cocked an eyebrow, as she shut the door behind herself, "are you saying that I normally look ugly?"

"No, you always look nice, but you look more-" Reid began, growing more red and flustered by the second.

"Mate, I'm joking," she said, as she began walking down the hall. Reid started after her, "do you always take everything anyone says seriously?" she asked, as she saw Morgan waiting for them by the elevator.

"Uhm, yes?" Reid replied, uncertain of what the correct answer was. Morgan looked at the pair questioningly, as they caught up to him.

"Reid you need to lighten up. I think one wild night would really change your answer," she said as the elevator door opened.

Morgan laughed as they all entered, "I've tried to get him drunk for years; it's never worked."

"Yeah, because I know you're going to go crazy so someone needs to drive you home," Reid said accusingly, as Morgan laughed harder.

"Okay Pretty Boy, next time we all go out, you get drunk and I'll drop you off. Actually, we've never seen Russia drunk and seeing as you both live near each other, you can both get wasted and I'll drop the pair of you off."

Charlotte looked at Morgan inquisitively, "I accept your most gracious offer Derek."

Morgan looked at Reid and smiled, "See? Look at her, she's such a good sport."

"So then what happened?" Charlotte asked as they all listened to Rossi's story.

"Then I said; 'Well fine, I'll sell it to you', and I couldn't believe it but he bought the entire carton off of me for more that he'd purchased it the first time around," he said as the entire table erupted into laughter.

"Is this the cigar story you've told me about?" a voice said. The others turned to see a man who must have been in his thirties with blonde hair and a slight rugged appearance behind Hotch's chair.

"Sean!" Hotch cried out getting up and giving the man a hug. He turned back to the table, "you guys remember my brother Sean, right?"

Everyone nodded; even Charlotte although she'd never known Hotch had a brother. The two didn't look alike at first, but behind the differing hair colours and physical characteristics, the two had the same facial features and eye colour. Hotch nodded over at Charlotte and Kate, effectively snapping her out of her analysis. "Sean, this is SSA Kate Callahan," Hotch said, as Sean and Kate shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Sean," Kate said.

"Likewise," he turned her hand and saw the wedding band on her finger. "Ah, your married. So close." He added, giving her a small wink as the others laughed.

"And this," Hotch continued, "is SSA Charlotte Romanoff."

Sean turned to Charlotte and shook hands with her as well, "I see you share names with an Avenger."

Charlotte laughed, "yeah, but she's evil, and I'm not _as _much."

Sean laughed before tuning her hand, "Oh; not married?" he asked wiggling an eyebrow.

"No," she said apprehensively.

"Boyfriend? Ex-Husband? Dog?" he asked quickly.

"No, no, and no," she replied.

"Finally!" he fake yelled, as they all laughed. "Brit?" he asked, to which she nodded yes. He quickly straightened up, "now doth the lady requesteth anything in particular?" he asked in what Charlotte could only hope was his feeble attempt at a British accent.

"Nay dear sir. Thy entertainment was enough," she replied, mockingly. "Doth thy request anything of myself?"

"Your number would be nice," Sean shrugged. Charlotte gave a quick glance at Hotch who mouthed _Okay._ Charlotte grabbed the pen from Sean's apron and quickly scribbled down her number on one of the spare napkins. She gave both items back to him, and with a wink, he left.

The rest of the table watched Charlotte in amusement, as she picked up her fork and continued eating her pasta. She looked up from her plate, "What?"

"Nothing," they all replied in unison. Slowly, everyone ate their fill, and when the last drop of water was drunk, and the last story was shared, they made their way out of the restaurant and to the elevators once more.

Quietly, everyone exited the elevator and soon Charlotte and Reid were walking down to their respective rooms. Suddenly he turned to her, "so Sean huh?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, as they turned down their hallway.

"Well, he's Hotch's brother, and he was part of one of the cases we had a few years ago," Reid said as they stopped outside of their doors.

"And?" she asked.

"Well, he was charged with assault and fleeing the scene of the crime, although I don't think he served any jail time" Reid stated.

"Well if you look at my record, he seems like an angel," she said sarcastically.

Reid wasn't smiling, "I'm just letting you know what you're getting in to. He and Hotch have a pretty messy relationship."

"Reid, I can take care of myself. And I highly doubt that anything will even come of this. They guy probably gets numbers all the time."

"Fine," he said, turning his back to her as he opened up his door.

"Fine," she replied doing the same. She quickly went into her room and shut the door. _God Reid, can't you mind your own business?_ She thought. She quickly tore off her cardigan and jeans and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. Just as she was about to change her shirt, she heard a knock on the door.

Sighing, she prepared herself mentally for another can of awkwardness that Reid was about to open. She didn't bother to check who the visitor was through the peep hole, especially at ten thirty at night. She opened up the door and was slightly shocked by the man standing in front of her.

Dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a grey v-neck sweater, Sean was rocking back and forth on his feet. "Hey, you forgot this at the restaurant," he said, holding out her phone.

"Oh-er, thanks," she said taking the small device from him and shoving it in her pocket. "Do you want to come in?" she asked, moving out of the way.

"Sure," he responded, as he slid by her and into the room.

She had goosebumps running down her arms, which had nothing to do with the tank top she was wearing in the cold room. She slowly shut the door, leaving the pair alone.

Across the hall, Reid stood there and watched through the peephole of his door. He heard the knocking as he was about to collapse onto his bed, and made his way to his door, where he saw Sean knocking on Charlotte's door. He saw her door open, and Sean pass her something. Slowly, she moved to the side, allowing Sean entry into her room. Looking back out into the hall, Charlotte shut the door. Reid threw his head back in anger, the pair were alone.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what's up? Sean asked, as he sauntered in to the hotel room. Plastered up on the left wall by the desk were the various photos of the bombs and crime scenes, along with several suspects. He noted this and looked back at her, "I like your taste in wall décor."

She smiled slightly, "I don't think you're supposed to be seeing this, it is after all, confidential." She sat down at the little table in the middle of the room, and nodded for him to take the other seat, "So . . ."

He drummed his fingers on the table nervously, "um, when are you free? I mean, besides tonight," he said quickly, before she could interject.

"Er, I'm not sure. We don't know how long this case will take us, but" she got up and snatched a notepad and a pen from the cluttered desk, "if you write down your number, then I'll be able to let you know."

Sean smiled slightly, noting her choice of words, "Alright." He plucked the pen and paper from her outstretched hands and scribbled down a number. Passing it back to her, he noticed a small smile creeping on to her face, "what?" he asked, checking the paper to make sure his number was correct.

"It's just odd for me. Here, in America that is. Back where I'm from, a man never just asks you out. It's a long and lengthy process. I mean, the last bloke who asked me out, spent almost two years planning it. You know, building a foundation and all that nonsense."

"So they never do what I just did?" Sean asked interestedly to which Charlotte shook her head no. "Well, they are really missing out." He stood up and made his way over to the door, turning back he said "you sure you want to do this?"

"Wait-what?" she asked, somewhat confused. Those were the exact words Reid had used when the pair were returning from dinner.

"I mean, I dunno if Aaron told you, but I kind of have a criminal record, so" he shrugged as if to say _if you don't want to do this, especially with your job, I understand._ He looked at Charlotte's solemn face somewhat hurt, and was shocked when she began to laugh.

"Oh, you mean because of my job" she said between gasps of air. "Oh, a criminal record isn't new to me."

"What?" he replied in a mix of shock, awe, and relief, and he began to laugh.

"Yeah, if we're talking about criminal records then we're both on equal footing here. And besides, I've been out with loads of tossers, how bad could you possibly be?" she said, as she followed him to the door.

Opening it up, he slipped by her, and turned to face her, "you're a lot cooler than I thought you'd be."

"Why, what did you think I'd be like?" she asked, curiously.

"Well, when I heard your accent I thought you might be one of those British snobs with their noses in the air, and stick up their ass. But you're a hell of a lot nicer," before leaving he gave her a quick peck o the cheek and walked down the hallway.

By the time Charlotte had processed what had happened, she could hear the faint ding of an elevator in the distance.

"Okay, what if we put this piece . . . here?" Charlotte asked, placing the oblong steel spike between two red and yellow wires. She moved her hand and the piece slipped, touching both wires at one as it fell. The result was a large spark and a small little _punt_ occurred, shaking the table the bomb was on. Finally, almost two days of non-stop working on the tiny little shit that was this psycho's bomb, she and Morgan had managed to complete a replica of it.

Morgan pulled out a piece of paper from underneath a file, and looked at the contents, scratching his shaven head. "It makes sense, but . . . I think that the only problem with placing it there is how unstable the bomb's detonation would be. All the times the bomb's been moved by the Bomb Squad, it would have exploded."

"So it needs to be somewhere where detonation would have to be triggered by a third factor; like a remote?" Charlotte said, peering over Morgan's shoulder as he continued to eye the paper.

"No, but I think you're on to something. Hold on," he said, walking to the door, "Hey guys, come in here for a second. He moved out of the doorway and soon, the entire group was in the room. Although the room Charlotte and Morgan were working in had the most space, it was the only room where the bomb, if detonated, would be contained indefinitely. "So, the last few detonation sites were the Chrysler, the subway, and the Empire. All of these places have one thing in common; they are loud. Charlotte pointed out that the bomb's detonator is placed above these two wire," here he gestured to the red and yellow wires. It's just placed precariously until a loud enough noise causes it to shake and fall, and then it will simply just. . ." he dropped the metal again and another current caused the table to shake.

"And this helps us how?" Kate said, looking thoroughly confused.

"If the device needs to be placed in an area where the volume is loud, then this will narrow down the geographic profile," Reid said, looking at one of the maps he'd brought along with him.

"Morgan, get Garcia to pinpoint all the locations with the most traffic," Hotch said, as he stood to exit the room. The others followed suit, while Charlotte quickly scribbled the idea down, and Morgan called Garcia.

"Hey baby girl, we need you," Morgan said, as Garcia gasped on the speaker.

"I'd almost thought you'd forgotten me!" she said, sounding somewhat gratified as Morgan laughed.

"Nah, how could we forget you Angel? I need you to use those kickass skills of yours to find out where the most traffic is in New York," Morgan said.

"Seriously?" they heard Garcia say over the clicking of her keyboard. "This is New York. Do you know how many people live here? You might as well highlight the entire island," she quipped. "Alright, I went for all the ground places, and filtered out all the past sites that this sicko has targeted. I just sent you guys the map."

A ding emitted from the two tablets on the table, and a large and colourful map of the city was plastered on it.

"All the places that are dark red have the most activity. Click on them and they will have the exact addresses," Garcia chirped over the phone.

"Okay, there are twenty seven places with high amounts of traffic throughout the day," Charlotte said. They exited the bomb room, tablets in hand and made their way back into the room where all the others were working.

"The last few bombs were found around 10 am, right?" Rossi said, as he looked at the timeline the team had created on one of the boards.

"Yeah," the group replied.

"Garcia, find the ones that have the most activity between the hours of 8 to 10" Rossi said. The map changed again and there were seven dark red splotches on the map.

"So that narrowed this down," Kate murmured.

"All the other places were frequented by tourists, so the same can be said for this" Charlotte added.

"On it," Garcia said, a few seconds passed, and only two splotches remained on the map.

Kate clicked it, and saw the coordinates, "the new Trade tower?"

"The statue of Liberty?" Hotch added.

"The Unsub's targeting places that represent America?" Charlotte answered. The team looked at her questioningly, and she continued "when most people think of America, they think of places like Vegas, Texas, and New York. When New York is mentioned they think of 9/11 or the Statue of Liberty, or the Empire State building, or the expansive and confusing subway system. It makes sense. This Unsub wants to strip one of America's greatest city's of its identity."

"So, we're looking for someone who has something against America?" JJ said.

"That'll be easy," Rossi muttered.

"Well, if we've profiled where he's targeting, can't we station people out there?" Morgan asked.

Hotch shook his head "No, it'll cause too much panic if the public sees a whole bunch of police forces in one area. And the unsub will notice is as well. H might detonate the bomb, or abandon the plan and disappear."

"Wait, let's think about this," JJ said "what kind of person would be able to visit all these locations early in the morning, without anyone giving them a second guess?"

"Maintenance, probably" Charlotte said. "I mean, all the bombs were found in basements, or areas where maintenance employees would go to check on systems. Oi Garcia, you still here?" she asked.

"Present as ever, my Queen," she replied.

"Great, can you compile a list of all the maintenance companies that have worked on the previous sites?" Charlotte asked, her fingers drumming the side of her leg in anxiety.

Garcia was quiet for a moment, but soon responded, "That's a long list, any way to shorten it?"

"Try looking for staff members in those companies that have a background in engineering degrees, and would have access to the supplies used to make the bombs," Rossi said.

"Alright, we have seventy two people," Garcia informed the group.

"Look for people who have had run ins with the law, most likely through campaigns or protests against the government" Hotch ordered.

"Alright we have ten people," Garcia said.

"This person's company would have maintenance relations with either the Trade centre or the Statue," Reid interjected, "Those are the only two targets left."

A moment of pure silence passed, marled only by the typing noises coming through the phone on Garcia's side. "Alright, got him. Aldridge Kenworth, he is an engineering major, and is getting his PhD this summer. He has had numerous run ins with the law, all due to his protests against government policies. He has a part time job working at the docks, unloading various types of cargo, and his family owns a scrap metal yard."

"Do you have an address?" Hotch asked, and he motioned over to the chief of police, who listened to Garcia closely, while miming to his officers to get ready. The others were strapping on their vests, and picking up their weapons.

"Yes, he lives at 214 Avenue Road, Room 12," she said, as Hotch quickly picked up his phone, where the GPS had already mapped out the fastest route to the apartment complex. "Oh, but there's a small and abandoned warehouse in the middle of the scrap yard. I've sent you guys the address." The team was about to leave, "be safe" Garcia added quickly.

"Don't worry mama, we will" Morgan said, shutting off the phone and running off with the others.

Hotch motioned to the swat team to go around and cut off the back exit of the warehouse. Snipers were placed all around, aimed at every single window on the building. On the count of three, Morgan opened up one of the doors, and the team, along with the police, SWAT, and Bomb Squad entered the premises. Checking around each nook and cranny of the entrance, they delved deeper and deeper in to the warehouse until they were almost in the heart of it. Hotch motioned to the others _Morgan go with Kate, JJ with Rossi, Reid with Charlotte, Capt. Harrods with me. _They quickly split up, with a group of SWAT and Bomb Squad members following each duo.

Reid and Charlotte rounded a corner and came to a quick stop. They could hear the familiar noise of a person tinkering with bits of metal. Gesturing to Charlotte, Reid mimed _you go around back, and I'll go forward. _Looking as though she were about to disagree with this, she quickly nodded, rather than get into a heated debate with her team member. She took half of each squad and headed around, quickly telling the others where they were. Within ten seconds, the other team members had joined them and were surrounding the room. On the count of three, one of the SWAT members knocked down the door leading into the room.

In the centre, a man stood tinkering with something that could only be a bomb. Except this one was the size of a beanbag, and obviously held enough gunpowder to blow the entire warehouse to rubble. HE stood up straight, beaming, his tufts of hair falling into his eyes, "ah, you made it."

"Listen Mr. Kenworth, we don't want to cause any trouble," Hotch said, as he moved closer to the man- and by default-the bomb.

"Oh, but you did cause trouble. You caused all of this. Walking around and thinking you are the world police. Telling everyone else, that what they have been doing is wrong. How you wandered into countries that-that don't even need your help. How you condescend to those who haven't done anything except get you where you are today. You stand on the backs of the hard workers of our civilization. You order us around like heads on the Leviathan. You weak bastards. You haven't the courage to show us who you are. A poor country who owes everything it has to the countries form which it has stolen from. You shouldn't be apologizing to me in some shabby little warehouse, but rather, to the world from your houses that stand on the land of those who you killed and raped." Aldridge dropped his wrench with a loud _clang_ that echoed through the room. He suddenly pointed to Morgan who was to the left of him, "they enslaved your people." And then to Charlotte to his right, "they called you a Communist, as though it is some kind of threat." He pulled out a gun from the waistband of his jeans, "I've got all of you government officials in here. The ones who protect us, the people, from the government who feeds us these lies. You're trapped. You're screwed. If you shoot me, the noise will be loud enough to set off the bomb. I shoot this gun, and the same again."

So we have to get him out of here without firing a shot," murmured Hotch, to Charlotte, who was level with him, "and get someone to the bomb, to get that piece out." He looked to Morgan who nodded in Hotch's direction, letting him know he'd heard their plan through his earpiece. Hotch nodded at Charlotte discreetly.

She moved slightly, holstering her weapon, and putting her hands in the air. "Look mate, I know where you're coming from. These Feds, these _Americans_, haven't learnt anything from Iraq, or Afghanistan. I mean, look at American Sniper, they invaded the country and caused so much damage and destruction. Then, 20 years later, they made a movie about how it made their soldiers sad! It's ridiculous, and I, like you, understand why you are fighting against them. They are the scum of the Earth. Actually, scratch that, they are what is underneath the scum of the Earth," she drew closer to Aldridge, until they were almost level. His gun was still pointed at her chest, but he hadn't locked the hammer in, and his finger was no longer placed on the trigger.

"You understand?" Aldridge said, as she nodded. "You see?" he screamed out to the others, "she understands. She knows what you've done is wrong." He turned back to her, "you know?"

"Yes," she said in a convincing tone. She looked past his shoulder, and saw Morgan pull out a large, rectangular sheet of metal, that would have diffused the bomb, he pointed at the bomb and gave her a thumbs up. _It's clear, no more of these_, he pointed to the metal.

Charlotte turned back to Aldridge, who was still going on about the wrongdoings of America. "Okay, Mr. Kenworth, I need you to give me that gun of yours. I understand where you're coming from, and the others will apologize as soon as we get you out of here and to the police station. You haven't done anything wrong, but you have to come with us, alright?" She held her hand out waiting for the gun.

"No!" he screeched, brandishing the weapon towards her, "no, I need to set it off. I need to teach them a lesson!" he pointed to the others, who were edging nearer and nearer. Suddenly, a look of recognition passed across his face, "you lied." He said, looking to Charlotte. Taking her silence for a yes, he quickly clicked the hammer down, and put his finger on the trigger. The members of the team who were coming forward stopped immediately. He looked at Charlotte one more time, "You're one of them, and I'm not sorry."

A gunshot rang out in the warehouse, and Charlotte ran forward. Quickly, she knocked the still smoking gun out of Kenworth's hand, and sent it skidding along the floor, where Reid picked it up. She grabbed Kenworth by the long of the arm, and lifted him up slightly, before slamming him down on the ground. The others came rushing towards the pair, but by the time they'd gotten there, Charlotte had already handcuffed the mad bomber and handed him to the police captain who marched him out of the room, and most likely to a cop car waiting outside. Bomb squad came up from behind and, as a group, shifted the bomb onto a stretcher of sorts, before wheeling it out of the room.

Hotch walked up to Charlotte, "that was incredibly stupid of you." He said, before checking her arm She hadn't noticed, but Kenworth had missed her heart and, instead sent a bulled into her upper left arm.

He called for a medic, who showed up a few minutes later, and took Charlotte to the ambulance waiting outside.

"I'll go with you," Morgan said, as he walked out with her. The other surveyed the scene before heading out as well.

Charlotte lay in the hospital bed, thoroughly annoyed with the nurses, who were constantly checking on her. After they'd removed the bullet, which was lodged a few centimetres away from a major artery, they sent her to a small, private room to wait until the sedatives had worn off. Morgan was sitting next to her bed, laughing at her reaction every time a nurse entered the room. The nurses, coupled with the monotone beeping of the machine tracking her blood pressure had made the woman increasingly agitated. She therefore chose to direct her anger on the nurses, who were checking on her every two minutes. Charlotte had just sent the last one back out in tears. "Honestly, I just got harassed by one of her kind, and then they send in another one. It's bloody ridiculous. How would she like it if she'd just gotten shot and I was shoving my head up her ass?"

Morgan laughed delightedly, as the others sauntered into the room. "How are you?" JJ asked, looking at Charlotte sympathetically. Charlotte huffed angrily, causing Morgan to bend over, slapping his knees. "What?" JJ asked.

Another nurse dropped by the door, "Ma'am do you require anything?"

"If you shot yourself in the head twice, I'd be ever so grateful," Charlotte muttered, causing the entire team to laugh. The nurse simply shrugged and walked away, assuming Charlotte hadn't spoken. The machine next to her, which monitored her blood pressure and heart beat, bleeped loudly.

"They told me you could leave when you're ready," Hotch began, but at that point Charlotte had ripped off the clip on her finger, and the band on her arm, she flung them into the basket hanging from the machine, "this is where we part ways, you noisy bitch." She got up off the bed, threw on her blouse over her tank, and slid on her grey converse.

She quickly tied her hair up in a quick bun and marched over to the door, muttering under her breath. "good riddance" and "it's about bloody time." The others followed behind, laughing at her attitude. She was just about to walk past the desk outside.

"Excuse me ma'am, you have to sign some release papers," one of the receptionists said, passing the woman a stack of paper and plopping a pen on top. The receptionist sat back down in the chair behind the desk and continued to look at her screen.

Charlotte looked down at the woman in disbelief, "you're joking!"

"Protocol is no joke," the receptionist said seriously. Charlotte refrained from knocking the woman out and quickly signed all the paperwork, tossing the pen back at the woman and handing her the stack of papers. The woman passed her a little bag of medicines, "take one every day for the next two weeks, and there is a small container of painkillers as well, but don't take more than one every eight hours. Change your bandages every six hours."

Reid plucked the bag out of the woman's outstretched hand, and said "thank you."

"Is that all, or do I have your permission to set myself ablaze right now?" Charlotte asked angrily, as Reid and Morgan dragged her away from the desk and out to where the others were standing laughing.

The woman looked up, "excuse me young lady, you are in a hospital-"

"Right, so there's no point in me lighting myself on fire, seeing as I'm already in the depths of hell," she turned and marched out, swinging the door open angrily. Morgan and Reid were walking behind her, laughing as they joined the rest of the group on the trek to the car.

"What's up with you and hospitals?" JJ asked amused.

"They are a bunch of nutters. Caving holes in people and saying 'we're helping, we're helping.' Load of codswallop, I don't believe a single word," she said as she climbed into the back of the van. JJ, Kate, and Hotch went in one, as she, Reid, Morgan, and Rossi went in another. They got back to the hotel and helped Charlotte to her room.

"Are you going to give Sean a call?" JJ asked, as the guys left the girls alone in the washroom to help Charlotte change.

"Fuck, I forgot about that completely," forgetting that she was only in a pair of sweatpants and a bra, she ran to the table, where the paper with Sean's untidy scrawl lay, and she picked up her phone from the bed. She heard a snicker, and saw Morgan laughing slightly, while Reid stood there deep crimson, and Hotch and Rossi had averted their eyes. "Really Rossi, I thought we'd gotten past all this" she said sarcastically, causing the older man to laugh. She dropped the two things on the table and ran in to the washroom, grabbing her _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"_ tank top and shrugged it on. She and the other two girls exited the washroom. Charlotte picked up the two things shed left on the table and chucked them onto her bed, where she promptly lay.

"We'll just leave you to your business," Morgan said, heading to the door.

"Call us if you need anything," JJ said.

"That's if you get off the phone with Sean at any point," Kate said mockingly, causing Charlotte to stick her tongue out at the older woman.

One by one, they all dropped out of the room, until she and Reid remained. "Why is it that, out of everyone to leave, you and I are always the last to remain?" she asked him curiously.

"I honestly don't know, but I just want to say; be careful. And if you do need anything," he shrugged and opened up the door, "I'm a lot closer that most of those guys," with that he left.

Charlotte sat there, confused. Shaking her head, she picked up her phone and the paper with Sean's number on it. She began dialing, but felt a weird sensation in her stomach, a boiling sense of guilt. For what, she didn't know, so she continued about her business. The phone rang a few times until he answered hello. "Hello, its Charlotte," she said.

"Hi," Sean said, "So I'm guessing that either one of two things is happening; a) you've already left for Quantico, or b) you've finished the case and want to take up my offer for a date."

"Well, it's the latter. Where do you want to meet?" she asked, nervously, playing with the tassel on her pillow.

"Er- there's a restaurant Degree 60 on Avenue and 16th. Meet me there at 7:30?" he said.

"Alright, I'll see you then," she said nervously.

"I can't wait. Talk to you later, my boss is giving me hell," he said, as Charlotte heard a loud yell from his side of the conversation, just before cutting the phone.

Charlotte cut her side too. Laying on her back, she quickly called the girls, "I need your help." She glanced at the clock, which read 6, "now" she added.

What's wrong?" the two girls said.

"I have my date with Sean in an hour, and I have nothing here to wear."


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a short chapter, I know. But I'll use the time I have (Friday and Saturday) to make the next chapter extra-long. SO yeah, don't be too mad about the ending though, I'm going to elaborate in the next chapter because that's kind of like a continuation from this. **

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Charlotte asked, looking at her reflection in the floor length mirror.

JJ appeared by her left shoulder, "no, I think it's really edgy." She quickly fixed one of the rouge curls sticking up off the top of Charlotte's head.

"And sexy" Kate added, as she fixed the hem of the dress.

"I still think it's a bit too much" she said, poking in the last of her earrings. It was moments like there where Charlotte regretted having multiple piercings on each ear. Her left was covered; three at the lobe and two cartilages, while the right had two at the lobe, one cartilage and a tragus. She covered them all with simple gold earrings. Her outfit, however, seemed like a different matter entirely. The restaurant Sean had picked was a slightly classy and expensive one, which meant one thing and one thing only; waxed everything. She's been able to pick up one of the self-waxing kit-which still didn't make the process any less painful. However, she was glad that the romper she'd chosen to purchase (because who packs a fancy outfit with them when they're out at bloody crime scenes?) was as revealing as appropriate for the event- she wasn't about to waste a good wax for nothing. The black jumpsuit she'd bought went down to her heels, and had ¾ sleeves which tapered out to make her arms look more slender. It had a deep neckline as well as a backless back. Charlotte, who had emerald colored eyes, decided to go for very simple makeup. She'd chosen a pair of simple, two inch, nude heels with a gold toe. To bring the outfit together, she splurged and purchased a cute little Kate Spade clutch with a gold turn lock. Grabbing this item and her dark red blazer, she gave herself one more look in the mirror.

Before Charlotte opened it, she heard Kate speak; "they grow up so fast."

JJ whispered, "I know. One day they're roaming around in full out Star Trek gear, the next, they look like this," she gestured to Charlotte, who laughed.

"Thanks you guys," she said, shutting the door behind herself. She took a breath before heading down the hall. She walked down the hallway where the elevator was and nearly got scared to death as one of the doors flew open.

"Well hello Russia!" a voice from inside exclaimed.

Charlotte turned to the occupant of said room, "oh, hi Morgan. You just entertaining yourself in there?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"Nah, it's just me and Reid. But you know you're always welcome," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, but thanks for the offer," she said, looking at Morgan and Reid who'd just joined the farewell party.

His mouth opened wide, "you-you-um-lo-look-look amazing!" he said, growing redder and redder as each minute passed, an attribute shared by Charlotte that very moment.

"Uh- thanks," she smiled, and waved as she made her way to the elevator.

"Here, let me get that for you" Sean said, helping Charlotte with her jacket, before pulling out her chair for her.

She laughed, "Your etiquette is impeccable." She took the chair gratefully, as she admired Sean's simple outfit. He was clad in a pair of trousers and a simple white collared shirt. His hair, rather than being in its slightly ruffled manner, was slicked back. In some ways, he resembled the character Harvey Specter.

He poured her a glass of wine and took the chair opposite, "so, why the BAU?" he asked interestedly, sipping on his own glass.

"Well, I dunno. I mean, I'm good at reading people and I have some pretty useful degrees, and I am fully trained in self-defence, so why not?"

"Wait-are you Russian?" he asked, his eyebrow cocked.

"Well yeah. I thought my name made it pretty obvious," she smiled, as she sipped some wine. "Why do you ask?"

"Why do you want to help America?" he asked, waiting for a serious response, which incidentally, he never got.

"Who wouldn't want to help America?" she cried mockingly, "everyone loves you guys."

Sean burst out laughing at that point, and that's sort of how the dinner went, until . . . .

He was walking her back to her hotel room. The pair were standing in the elevator, as it passed each floor the space between the two was decreasing. "Any seriously deranged exes I ought to know about?" she asked jokingly.

"Nope, I know how to let a lady down nice and easy," he replied, "you?"

"Like I have exes. I've never gotten pass the second date," she said, as the elevator door opened up. They walked in silence as they rounded the corner to her room. Slowly, the two looked at one another as Charlotte dug around in her purse for the key.

"This was fun," Sean said awkwardly, as she buried her arm in her bag.

"Bullocks," she muttered, completely oblivious to his words.

Sean moved towards her, "what's wrong?" he asked.

She gave him a half-smile, "I forgot my key inside." She looked up at him and realized she must've sounded like a complete buffoon.

He started down the hall, "let's go back to the front desk, maybe-" he stopped as he turned around, watching her fiddling with the lock.

She pulled out a simple credit card and slid it into the lock quickly, and nudged the door in with her shoulder, to no avail. He continued to watch as she pulled out a thick and stiff coil of wire from her bag. "Always leave home with that?" he asked, nervously.

Charlotte laughed, "where I'm from, you're screwed if you don't have it." She bent it into an 'L' before sliding it underneath the bottom of the door. He watched in awe as she picked the lock from the inside of the room. Suddenly, the door opened, as she stood up from her spot on the floor.

"Normally, I don't condone this type of behaviour, but that was pretty awesome," he said, as they entered her apartment.

"What can I say? I'm gifted," she said, tossing her bag and jacket onto one of the chairs. They stood in the middle of the room, the door shut, and just looked around, awkwardly. "So . . ."

"Um- this was a great night, we should do it again sometime," he said giving her an awkward hug.

Charlotte looked at him, "yeah we should. Next time I'm in New York, or you're in Quantico." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she led him to the door.

Suddenly, he turned around, and kissed her. Like an actual kiss. This, of course, changed the night completely. Rather than leaving the hotel room, Sean made himself at home. VERY at home.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I haven't been here in a while….. sorry for the delay. I had to make some university decisions, and it was tough. I just put all the options in a hat and pulled one out. I don't understand the public education system. Like honestly, on month I have to ask to go to the washroom when nature calls, but the next I have to decide what I want to do for the next +40 years of my life. **

The sun poured through the drapes that hung over the hotel window, bathing the room in light. Two figures lay in the bed; a man and woman. The man, had already woken up and was admiring the woman that was lying next to him. He traced his finger along her shoulder and bare back, enjoying her velvet-like skin. Her blue hair was splashed over the pillow, and her face, for once, looked peaceful. Her soft pink lips were curved into a small smile, and slowly she opened her eyes to face him. "How long've you been up?" Charlotte asked, her green eyes shining in the sunlight.

"About ten minutes," Sean replied, smiling back at her. He suddenly felt self-conscious upon realizing that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. He stretched slightly, just so that she'd be able to roll into his arms.

"What's the time?" she asked, attempting to look over Sean's shoulders at the clock placed on the bedside table.

He turned his neck slightly, allowing her to kiss his jaw gently, stubble prickling her lips, "7:25."

Charlotte jumped up, throwing the blanket off of herself, and by default, Sean. She hopped off of the bed, and began to open her suitcase, pulling out some clothes. She threw those, along with Sean's clothes onto the bed, and began running around the room, tossing the rest of her belongings in to the suitcase haphazardly.

Sean leant back on his arms, watching her move swiftly around the room. Within ten minutes, she had quickly put all of her stuff into the suitcase, and had moved to the bathroom, locking the door, and laughing at Sean's attempt to join her in the shower.

He slowly got up, and checked around the room for any of the things she could have possibly left behind. Slowly, Sean got up and rearranged his things, so that when she was done showering, he'd be able to use the washroom quickly.

Another five minutes passed, and the clock read '7:40.' The bathroom door swung open, and Charlotte stood before him, a towel wrapped around her body. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and she was holding her makeup case in her hand. "Knock yourself out," she said, nodding to the washroom door.

Sean grabbed his clothes, giving her a kiss, before going into the washroom. Slowly, she pulled on some undergarments, a pair of blue jeans, and a simple white top. As she pulled on her Converse, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Russia, the plane leaves in twenty five. You up yet?" Morgan's voice said.

"Oh, yeah I'm up," she said quickly. Opening up the door, she saw Morgan and Reid standing out in the hallway. The pair walked into the room and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room.

Reid nodded over to the pictures and case file on the desk, "you should hand those to Hotch to put in the file." Charlotte nodded at his advice and proceeded to organize the pictures and documents. Just then the shower was turned on, and the two men looked at her questioningly. "Who's-?" Reid began, but not before Morgan cut across him, laughing.

"Sean?" he said through gasps of air, as he watched Reid's face pale and Charlotte's go red. "Wow, that's erm, well, that is something," he said, as his fit subsided.

"The bossman's brother," Reid said observantly, as Charlotte went even redder. He didn't know why, but the thought of Charlotte being with someone else cut through him worse than a bullet (and he knew perfectly well how much one of those hurt). The only time he'd ever felt like this what when Garcia told him Maeve used to be engaged.

"Well, I didn't exactly plan for this to happen. It just did, alright?" she stated, looking at Reid with sympathy mixed with anger and confusion.

"Whatever," Reid said, shaking his head and looking everywhere but at Charlotte's outraged face. Morgan could feel the tension in the room, but before he could excuse himself and Reid, the latter began to laugh, not in a funny way, but rather, in a rude way. "I honestly can't even look at you."

"What? What did I do?" Charlotte said, folding her arms across her chest. Morgan sighed, that was always a warning sign with women.

"Well, first of all, you slept with a guy on the first date!" he said bluntly, he looked over at Morgan, pointing in Charlotte's direction. "Who does that?"

"Um, Reid?" Morgan said, looking at Charlotte whose mouth was open in disbelief.

"Since when did what I do and who I sleep with become any of your concern? And for the record, it's not like I planned out any of this. Most of the time, I just act first and think later, it's called living. I cant be a robot, unlike other people that I know."

Reid raised his eyebrows, "I didn't realize that thinking first made me a robot. I thought it made me a considerate person. And just because I don't sleep with people all the time, doesn't mean that I'm a robot and I don't have a life. I just find meaning in other things, things I enjoy."

Charlotte's hands were on her hips, "That's not what I said. And I find meaning in tons of other stuff besides sleeping with people, like; reading, cooking, writing, and fixing things. Wait, aren't some of these things that you enjoy. So wouldn't that mean that you are, somewhat, like myself?"

Reid threw his head back and laughed, "I am nothing like you," he walked up to her and whispered, "you were an assassin who never had a boyfriend and probably slept with men and left before they woke up the next morning. And just because you and I like the same stuff, doesn't mean that we are in the same category. We are two completely different people."

The pair hadn't noticed but Sean had emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed, his hair a little wet, and watching the pair with a confused look on his face. He walked over to where Morgan was sitting and took Reid's abandoned chair, watching the pair, still confused. Taking this break between the fight as an opportune moment, he cleared his throat slightly.

"What?" asked Reid and Charlotte at the same time, neither of them moving their eyes from the other's face.

Sean stood up, "well Charlotte, this was nice. We should do it again sometime."

Charlotte quickly regained he composure and, ignoring Reid, walked over to Sean. "Yeah, er, we-we should."

He gave her a quick peck on the lips before making his way to the door, letting himself out.

Charlotte took a moment before turning to Reid. "This," she said, pointing to both of them, "never happened."

Reid took a moment, before realizing what she meant (the fight), "yeah, it never happened," he nodded.

Morgan sighed and shook his head, wondering when the pair would just give up their messed up charade and start dating. He'd already lost 20 dollars to Rossi, betting that the pair would get together within a month of meeting each other.

They exited the room and trudged down to the elevator in complete silence. The door dinged open and they all entered, _this is going to be a long ride down_ Morgan thought as he stood in between the two, hoping that they wouldn't get into another verbal sparring match.

Surprisingly, the plane ride home was extremely calm and quiet. Charlotte had made some coffee for Reid and some tea for herself and both were having a discussion on the works of the late Sir Terry Pratchett.

"The Colour of magic has to be the best of the Discworld series," Charlotte said, "I used to read it all the time growing up. It was the first book I'd ever bought, and as bad as it sounds, I bought it only because the cover was colourful."

Reid laughed, "For some reason, I feel like the Wryd Sisters was intriguing. It reintroduced and further expanded the characters of the story. In the first few, we only get to know so little about Granny Weatherwax."

"Granny who?" Morgan asked, before putting his earphones on. He looked at the pair interestedly. No one else knew about Sean and Charlotte, nor did they know of Reid and Charlotte's little fight before they'd left the hotel.

"Oh, she's one of the characters from the Discworld Series. Probably the most interesting too, now that I think about it," Reid said, as Charlotte nodded feverently.

"But she's certainly not the best fictional character I've ever read about," Charlotte said.

"Wait, whose-Sirius Black, isn't it?" Reid said, as Charlotte laughed and nodded.

"He was my first literary crush, and also my last. No other character can ever beat the emotions I have for the tortured soul that is Sirius Black," Charlotte said.

"Wait, you were in love with a character that doesn't exist?" Morgan said, somewhat shocked.

"It's actually quite normal if you read as much as Spencer and I do. You develop emotional attachments, and bonds with character's whose fictional backstory is similar to you own," she replied.

Reid nodded, "I knew it was him. Page 603 of your copy of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, is covered in tear marks. The ink is so blurry because of the amount of times you read the books and cried."

"Hey, in my defence, he was the best goddamn character in the entire series. His character is what inspired me to be a good person," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

"So I take it you wouldn't have become a nicer person sooner?" Reid asked, cocking an eyebrow in her direction.

"I would have, but it would have taken some more time," she replied honestly.

Morgan looked in between the two before shaking his head, "honestly, you are both a pair of dorks."

"This is coming from the man whose favourite author is Kurt Vonnegut," Reid said to Charlotte.

Morgan looked shocked, "Reid," he warned.

"Oh, shit" muttered the others, who'd stopped to listen in on the conversation.

"Was it just me, or did it sound like you were trying to diss Vonnegut with your tone?" Morgan asked, straighten up to look at Reid, who placed his coffee in Charlotte's outstretched hand.

"Shit," Reid muttered, before getting up quickly and running to the bathroom, dodging Morgan's arms and locking the door behind him.

Morgan lent his back against the bathroom door and laughed, "you can stay in there as long as you like Pretty Boy, but you're going to have to get out soon enough."

"Hey Morgan, Reid, we're going to land in five minutes," Hotch said, looking up from his phone, shocked that Morgan, after almost 40 minutes, was still keeping Reid in the washroom.

"Do you think they'll ever move?" Rossi asked, nodding over to Morgan.

"Nope," said JJ, "Henry and Will do the exact same thing. They're usually at it for hours, though. These guys, could do this for days," she added, causing Kate and Charlotte to laugh.

A few moments later, the plane, landed, causing Morgan to hold on to the doorknob of the washroom. "Not letting you leave that easily, kid."

The plane screeched to a halt, and the others began picking up their belongings and shuffling to the door. Morgan, however, stayed put.

"Mate, you're going to rot in there" Charlotte said. "But on the bright side, we won't have to put together a profile to nail the Unsub."

The others laughed at her remark, and exited the plane as the door opened. Charlotte, however, quickly rinsed the two mugs, and picked up Reid's things, along with her own.

Suddenly, Morgan was shoved against the other wall, as Reid threw the door of the washroom open. He jumped over to where Charlotte was standing, thoroughly amused, and took his things from her. "Quick, before the beats awakes."

Just as he spoke, Morgan got up and rushed towards the pair, hoping to grab Reid's shoulder. Reid, however, slipped from underneath Morgan's outstretched arms, to the door, and down the stairs, where he promptly burst into a run to the office, and past the other member of the team, who were walking slowly.

Garcia wandered out of her office just in time to see, Reid burst out of the elevator and through the doors of the BAU, his face red, panting as though he'd just run a marathon. She stood there, with a bemused look on her face for a few more moments, and the other elevator opened up, spilling out the rest of the team members, who much like herself, looked thoroughly amused.

She met up with them, and entered the office, where Kate gave her a quick rundown of what had happened on the plane. "Oh," she replied, looking at Reid who was watching Morgan's every move like a hawk.

Morgan moved swiftly through the cubicles, until he was leaning against the wall shared by Reid and Charlotte, who'd already maneuvered by the roadblock Morgan had made with his body. She was sitting down, leaning back in her seat as she watched the show being played out in front of her.

Suddenly, Reid jumped out of his seat, around the other side of the cubicle, and stood by Charlotte's shoulder, "protect me, fair lady," he said.

She laughed as Morgan whipped around and began edging closer and closer. Suddenly she was lifted out of her chair by Reid, who'd wrapped his arms around her waist, using her as a shield. "Take her, take her."

"Jesus, mate. Put me down!" she cried, as Reid dragged her backward.

The others watched as Morgan gave up, and let Reid cause a scene with Charlotte, lifting her up, higher and higher. The team had never seen Reid be so playful and caring of a team member he hadn't known for more than a year or so. For now, everyone hoped the pair would just, as Rossi said "cut the crap and kiss."

Slowly, the day drew to an end, and Reid ended his feud with Morgan, after the latter had mown him down by the coffee machine. Rossi and Hotch were the first to leave, followed by Kate, and then Morgan, Garcia, and JJ.

"So," said Reid, getting up from his seat and putting his jacket on, "plan on leaving at any point?"

Charlotte looked past his head, to the clock on the wall which read 9:48 pm. Slowly she nodded, and began to gather her things. The pair exited the office and took the elevator down to the lot. "Wanna come over to my place for dinner?" Charlotte asked, as they walked through the lot together.

"Sure," Reid replied, pulling out the keys to his car.

**I just have a feeling you are all going to love the next chapter…. Promise I will try to update faster than I did with this last! **

**Thanks for reading, and remember to review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Well slap my ass and call me Judy! That last episode of Criminal Minds had me half-scared to death and half-scarred for life! I've never been so frightened for fictional characters since Harry Potter! I don't think I'll ever recover from that dream sequence where Reid was shot in the head. God bless and God damn Matthew Gray Gubler and his amazing directing style. If I ever write a horror novel, he's directing it, hands down. I was shaking so much while writing this, because, let's face it, he's directed some of the creepiest episodes yet! Remember the human marionettes? And the episode with all the incest? Jesus that was like American Horror Story meets Silence of the Lambs meets Game of Thrones. **

**Oh and for those of you that are pissed at me for taking so long with another chapter, I was busy planning out how I wanted the story to go. Normally, I just sit down and write, but as I've found in the past, a vague plan is better than no plan (the Joker would be upset). And I've been psyched for prom as well. I got my dress, which is a replica of the Oscar de la Renta that Emma Watson wore to the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It's stunning and was a great price (only $300 including shipping, taxes, and duties). **

"Dinner is served," Reid said with a flourish as he placed a large bowl of spaghetti on the middle of the foot rest. Reid, who'd always lived alone, had never seen the benefit to purchasing a dining room table, seeing as he'd never invited a large amount of people over.

Charlotte looked at the bowl, or wok, that held enough spaghetti to feed the entire team. "Jesus, we're going to have a challenge." She looked at him, laughing, "this is my Everest!" She stood up and helped him carry the plates, drinks, and cutlery back to the sofa, where the pair were sitting back and relaxing.

"So," Reid said, as he poured her some food.

She looked at him, cocking her head. While he was a bit of a dork, he was incredibly good-looking. She'd never seen anyone who could pull off ruffled hair and a preppy outfit, all while being smart and not an asshole. "So," she replied.

He lent back and began to eat, and she, trying not to look too odd followed suit. "You did good on that case, with the unsub, I mean."

"Uh, thanks. I think it was partly because of the gun to my head, and the fact that the bomb behind be would have killed everyone," she replied sarcastically, as she twirled some pasta on her fork.

Reid turned to face her, a smirk on his face "ah, well, I would try to get used to that kind of stuff. It happens more often than you'd think."

She looked at him, "wait, how often has this happened to you?" she asked interestedly.

Reid looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "you sure you want to know?" to which she nodded. "Alright, well there was the time Hotch and I were held hostage by a serial killer. There was the time I walked into a hostage negotiation with the serial killer, and he had one of our old members hostage." Here he began to count off on his fingers, "there was the time I got kidnapped by an unsub and he tortured and drugged me for two days. And then there was the time that Prentiss and I were undercover at a cult and were taken hostage by the leader. Then there was the time I got infected with anthrax, and the time I got shot in the leg by a deranged unsub, and the time I got shot in the shoulder by Maeve's kidnapper, and the time I got shot in the neck." He looked at Charlotte, who had a fork-full of spaghetti halfway to her open mouth. She was staring at him in complete shock. "There may be a few more, but for now that's all I can remember." He continued to eat his food, amused that she hadn't responded.

She put the plate down and looked at him, "so that was all just you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"And the rest of the team?" she inquired.

"Well, Prentiss was hunted down by her nemesis, and got stabbed and nearly died. Then she was shot after she came back. JJ was kidnapped by an old team member from her job at the Pentagon, and she was pregnant and lost her kid when she was in the Middle East." At that moment, Charlotte put her hand over her mouth, and muttered _Oh my, _to which Reid nodded and continued. "Before that her husband walked into a hostage situation and gave himself in to the unsub's demands, and they went after JJ's son Henry. Then there was the time that Morgan got shot, he also got knocked out by the Reaper, and he got shot in the same shootout where I got shot in the neck. Garcia, believe it or not got shot by an unsub who thought she was on to him when he took her out for a date. Then there's Rossi, who's had his fair share in the past. And finally you have Hotch, who's probably been affected the most by this job." Reid, said pausing for a moment to let Charlotte absorb all the information.

"More so than yourself?" she asked, skeptically.

Reid shook his head, "he gave too much of himself to this job, even more than what I thought was possible. Shortly after Hotch was attacked and stabbed by the Reaper, he went after Hotch's ex-wife Haley and their son Jack. Hotch had them put in protective custody, but the Reaper found out where they lived and before Hotch could save them, Haley was killed by the Reaper. I had never seen Hotch that pissed off."

"What happened to the Reaper?" she asked, still looking shocked.

"Well, Hotch beat him until he died, and Jack was hiding somewhere in the house. Hotch was ripped to pieces. Didn't think he'd ever recover, but he did. It took a lot of time though," Reid drifted off.

"Damn, no wonder he's a bit of a stone-y man, that is until he's with his son," Charlotte said, as Reid nodded.

Reid turned on the television and began flicking through the channels looking for something they could watch. He finally settled on a channel which had just begun the film "_The Silence of the Lambs." _

Slowly, they picked their way through the enormous pasta mountain and were deep in to the film. So much so, that Reid hadn't even noticed he'd grabbed a blanket and covered the pair, and allowed Charlotte to rest her head on his shoulder, something he'd never let anyone do before. As strange as it felt, he didn't mind the weight, nor the mint smell that came along with it.

Soon, the film ended, and Reid slowly, slid out from underneath Charlotte's head, attempting not to wake her. This plan failed dismally, as she jumped when she touched him. "Sorry, I thought you were asleep," he admitted.

"No, no, I was just so into this film. It grabs my mind everytime I watch it," she said honestly. "As much as I love our job, Lecter is such an awesome character. Creepy, I know," she finished, as Reid smiled.

"Hey, you could never ask for a better psycho than him. Or Norman Bates," Reid added thoughtfully. HE shuffled over slightly as Charlotte stood up and stretched.

"I should probably head back to my place," she said, stepping past Reid's legs and towards the door, throwing her jacket on as she walked.

"I'll, um walk you back" Reid said, getting up to join her.

"Nonsense, you're at home and odds are you're pretty tired. It's not too far either. Look," she said making her way over to the window behind the television. She moved the curtain slightly, still looking back at Reid, "you can see my place from here."

Reid moved to stand next to her, and looked past Charlotte's shoulder at her building, "yep, there it is," he said, placing his hands in his pockets, and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"See," she said, dropping the curtain back in its place. "It's not too far," she went back to the door and opened it up, Reid right behind her. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, stepping into the hallway and to the staircase.

"Yeah, see you," Reid replied giving her a nod, before shutting the door. He headed back to the window, and looked out onto the parking lot. A few moments passed and he could see a figure walking through the cars, and into the doors of the residence. He looked up to the windows, and his mouth dropped open in shock. He ran to the table, where his phone was sitting and dialed Charlotte's number, and ran back to the window again.

The two figures he'd spotted climbing up the fire escape had made it to Charlotte's window, and were proceeding to pry the window open with an array of tools.

The dial rang. And rang. And rang.

Just before Reid could cut the phone, the ringing stopped and Charlotte's voice rang out from the other side. "I thought I was going to call you?" she asked sarcastically, he heard her stepping out of the elevator.

"No, no, it's- I'm looking at your apartment and someone's breaking in from the outside window, through the fire escape," he said quickly, hoping that he hadn't skipped words.

"What?" she asked from the other end. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"No, do you want me to get over there?" he asked, making his way to the door of his apartment.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you outside my place," and with that she cut the phone. Reid picked up his gun and credentials which were placed haphazardly on the table by the door. Holstering his gun, he flung the door to his place open and ran down the stairs and out of the foyer of the apartment complex. He navigated his way through the parking lot, trying to keep one eye on his path, and another on Charlotte's window. He looked up again, and noticed that the two figures had disappeared. He ran quickly to the front doors of Charlotte's apartment complex and ran to the stairs, climbing up the flights of stairs, until he was at her floor. He heard gunshots just as he'd opened up the door to her floor, and pushed his way through the halls, which were crowded by panicked neighbours. He turned down her hall, and noticed the door to Apartment 23 was lying in several pieces on the floor of the hall. Unholstering his weapon, he took a deep breath before entering her room.

The TV lay broken, shards of glass everywhere, pool sticks were smashed in halves, and chairs were overturned. The large dining table had collapsed, with traces of blood smeared over the white surface. A lam lay shattered in Charlotte's bedroom, and the window where the suspects had broken in, was smashed open.

"Charlotte," he called out. No one responded. He called out for her a few more times. He called her phone. The phone rang and rang, as Reid realized that she'd dropped it beneath all the debris. He went back to the window and peered down into the parking lot, where he saw a black van speeding out of the lot and onto the road. Taking another deep breath, he dialed Hotch's number, "we have a problem."

"What is it?" Hotch's tired voice echoed through the speaker.

"Charlotte. She's been kidnapped."


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, go over it one more time for all of us," Rossi asked, as he sat down facing Reid, who looked as though he'd been deprived of sleep for almost two days, which wasn't far from true, it had only been 12 hours since Charlotte had gone missing.

"Well, we were at my apartment relaxing. She left to go home at around 2, and I offered to walk her home. She said she'd be fine, and that her apartment was visible from my place, so walking her there and back would've been a waste. I let her go, and I walked back to my window where I saw the two figures climbing up the fire escape. I called her and told her what I saw and she told me to hurry on over. By the time I had gotten there, I heard a few gunshots, pulled out my gun, and ran into her apartment. But she was gone and the apartment was in pieces."

"Okay, and the van, what do you remember about it?" Derek asked, looking awake, but just.

"It was one of those Mercedes Benz ones, like the ones they use for plumbing or electrician businesses. It was black or navy blue, and there was a logo on the side, a white one, but I couldn't read what it said."

"Alright," said Garcia, "I'll compile a list of businesses within the city that use vans like the one you described."

The room was silent, the only noises coming from the clatter of Garcia's nails on the keyboard.

Reid looked at the ground, wishing nothing more than for it to swallow him whole. If he'd just ignored her, and walked her home like he should've, then none of this would have been happening. If not that, he should've told her to wait for him, so at least she wouldn't have been alone.

JJ looked at Reid's hunched figure. She could tell by the way he was carrying himself, and the amount of times he'd drift off into his own little world, that he blamed himself for what had happened to Charlotte. This wasn't right, and Reid didn't deserve to lose the best thing that had happened to him since Maeve. She walked up behind him and gave him a little hug, whispering some stuff to calm him down.

Suddenly Reid shot out of her arms and walked through the doors of the conference room, "we need to find her."

Rossi exchanged looks with Garcia, JJ, Kate, and Derek. Hotch was in his office, attempting to access some files on Charlotte's past, however, he was finding himself in a tough spot with the law. A majority of the files were locked up, and required codes that had been requested through the Russian Intelligence System. Hotch had never been one to break the rules, but he found himself becoming more and more desperate. "I understand completely sir, and thank you for your time," he said, putting the phone back on the receiver. He took a deep breath before heading to the conference room, passing an enraged Reid in the hallway, "hey, what's going on?" Hotch asked grabbing Reid by the shoulders, and forcing him to stop.

Reid sighed before looking up at him, "she's gone Hotch, and I could have prevented this from happening," he replied, looking slightly disturbed.

"She wasn't being honest with us about her past. All of it" Hotch said, looking at Reid, "maybe if she had, we could have prevented this from happening ages ago. It's not your fault Reid, it was hers."

Reid nodded for a moment, and Hotch stepped back, letting him walk by before continuing into the room. "'He'll be fine," he said, owing to the looks on everyone's faces. "But for the meantime, we have something else to do," turning to Garcia he said, "we need you to access some files from the Russian Intelligence, and I want you JJ, to contact Emily at Interpool. We need to get everything there is on Charlotte Romanoff. _Everything. _Leave no stone unturned."

Garcia nodded and went back to her laptop, pursuing the task Hotch had given her. A minute passed before she said, "'wait we need a security code," and once she'd seen Hotch's face she answered her own question, "Hack in?"

Hotch looked her dead in the eye, "hack in."

Meanwhile, JJ had phoned Emily and told her about the situation, "She's gone missing, Spence is a wreck, and we need everything we can get on her. I know for a fact that she lived in England for about 20 odd years."

Emily's voice echoed through the phone, "Alright, I'll send everything I can find to Garcia." But before JJ could cut the phone she asked, "Isn't this a lot like that Maeve situation?"

JJ sighed before answering, "If anything, I hope it's completely different." She rubbed her temples in an attempt to calm herself down. She could hear Emily typing away on her computer, accessing files.

"Do they like one another?" Emily asked slightly concerned for what Reid might be getting himself into as she opened up a file, "because he might get more than what he bargained for."

"She worked for MI6!" Derek said, looking shocked, and impressed. It was a look that had become a regular sight in the past three hours. Prentiss had sent everything she could find on Charlotte, and surprisingly, it wasn't much. It was only when Garcia hacked into the RI, that they were provided with an abundance of files, detailing her every move. From there, Prentiss was able to find some more document pertaining to incidents that had surrounded the woman, but she had never been connected to.

Reid was sitting next to him, flipping through a stack of files. He frowned slightly, "Well if by 'worked' you mean 'ran,' then yes she did." He wasn't amused by the new information he had been receiving from Garcia and Prentiss. While he found himself impressed by Charlotte's credentials, he was increasingly frustrated by how little he knew about his new colleague. This was especially disconcerting considering how he'd been feeling about her. He sighed, and tossed the file to Hotch, running a hand through his tangled hair, "she went undercover and put a man named David Klaus away. He was released on May 6th, 2014 - so about a year ago."

"But this kidnapping must've taken a while to plan. She's a Federal Agent, and with her training they knew she'd be prepared," JJ stated.

"But we can't rule out the possibility, can we?" Rossi replied from where he was analyzing the board.

So far the entire left wall of the room was plastered with photos and excerpts from files. They'd gone through every case she'd done with the UN, MI6, RI, and anyone who simply hired her to kill. The problem was, she'd made enemies on both sides of the moral spectrum. She'd done favours for mobsters, and for the government. At this point, no one knew whose side she was actually working on. This meant that the kidnapper could be anyone she ticked off in her career.

It also clued Reid and the others in on why she was assigned to the BAU. While she could've made a successful career in the White Collar Crime unit, or the Counter-Terrorism unit, she would have been recognized as a Federal Agent by the community she'd worked in. The BAU was the only unit where the likelihood of getting involved with mobsters and the mafia were small. She was also adept at reading people, which she probably learnt while stalking her prey.

"Okay, there was a case back in '06. She went undercover as an _assassin _for a mobster, Havier Cortez, who was the head of a huge corrupt family, involved in politics, business, and human trafficking. She was supposed to kill the Commander of the British Army, but she killed Havier instead. The Cortez family found out and they've been hunting for her since," Kate said, reading slowly.

"I think that gives us cause to suspect them?" Derek said, as he took the file and plastered parts of it on the wall.

Meanwhile . . . .

The room was filled with darkness, the only exception being the flickering flames of the candles lining the edge of the long, narrow table. Fifteen men were sitting there, dressed in expensive suits, drinking expensive alcohol, and making various plans. All of them shared the same build; Russian, tall, muscular, with dark red hair, and various weapons laying in front of them.

"Beating 'er up didn't seem to vork out for us" said a man sitting at the head of the table. He was twirling a long knife in his hand as he spoke, "vhich means ve need to do some'ting vorse. Any ideas?"

Another man, sitting to the left of him spoke up, "perhaps a few fingers ought to get her tongue moving."

"She knows where it is, I'm sure of it" said another, who was gulping down copious amounts of vodka.

A loud rattling noise was heard from the basement, causing the man at the head of the table to bury his knife to the handle, in the table. "Avksentiy, derzhat' yeye tikho (keep her quiet)" he yelled, motioning to the man sitting by the door.

He stood up quickly, pushing his glass aside, and walked calmly through the doors, swinging his switchblade as he went.

He walked calmly down the stairs, and into a small chamber. A large, metal door was in place, which was heavily secured with locks, chains, and even duct tape. He removed them quickly, laying them on a table beside the door. With a deep breath and a cunning smile he swung it open.

Inside, a lightbulb was dangling from the high ceiling, barely illuminating the room. A woman was hunched in the corner shackles on her hands and feet. She looked up at Avksentiy through swollen black eyes. She was wearing a pair of torn up pants and a tank top which exposed the various gashes on her arms, legs, torso, and back, as well as the one long, shallow cut diagonally across her face. "What?" she asked angrily in a cracking voice, "what else could you possibly do?"

Avksentiy laughed nastily, walking toward her with the switchblade, "vel, you still 'ave a few fingers left, no?"

Charlotte curled her hands into fists, ready to attack if he came nearer, "why, do you need the middle one?" she asked viciously.

Avksentiy threw his head back in laughter. He twirled the switchblade in his hand and looked down at her small figure, "vell if you don't tell us vere the money is, I might just take all of them."


	10. Chapter 10

"Does the name Havier Cortez mean anything to you?" Igor Petrovich asked, as Charlotte squirmed in the wooden chair she'd been shackled to.

"Well I killed him, but I guess it means something to his family" she replied through quick breaths. Her entire torso was covered with burns, bruises, and shallow cuts. The ring finger on her left hand was nothing more than a stump above the knuckle. Blood was slowly running from the right side of her head, by the temple. Droplets fell to the ground, creating a pool below.

At that moment, Rodrigo Cortez and David Klaus sauntered in to the room. Trailing behind was the large figure of Avksentiy. He hung back, clicking the pair of pliers he used to rip off said finger.

"She say anything about the money?" David Klaus asked, as he neared the chair. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit, his shoes polished, and his buzzcut looked quite fresh. He had a few scars on his hands, one of which was resting on a holstered revolver. He bent down to look into Charlotte's face.

"Never mind that, did she say anything about my father?" he walked over and pushed Klaus out of the way. He grabbed a fistful of Charlotte's hair and tugged her head back, so she was looking directly up at him. "You stupid *****, tell us where the money is before I tear you limb from limb myself."

I highly doubt you'd let me live, even after I told you where the money is. And besides, you already know where it is," she retorted sassily. While she tried to remain strong, it took all of her willpower to refrain from telling them where the money was. However, the men were growing impatient. Her enemies had all congregated to take her down, and her past had caught up to her. Time was running out.

The BAU team was sitting in the conference room, looking disheveled and sleep deprived. It had been over two days since Charlotte had been kidnapped, and while they were all doing their best to sort through the information Prentiss had provided them, they were becoming increasingly frustrated by how little they knew of their colleague. She'd been working with them for a few months now, and was getting along splendidly with everyone, including Reid, who was extremely skeptical of newcomers. He was also the only one who was becoming increasingly agitated by every new shred of information the team had gathered.

"We need to narrow down this stack," Rossi said, nodding his head over at the twenty or so files sitting between Hotch and JJ. "We've got Klaus, the Cortez family, Igor Avksentiy, and a few more members of the Russian mob." He scratched his head for a moment before continuing, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that they are all involved in this somehow"

Hotch looked up at Rossi, immediately losing interest in the file he was reading, "what do you mean?" he asked.

Rossi took a breath before he began, "Well, if I was going after a trained assassin, and they'd already beat me once at my own game, who would I call?"

Kate's eyes lit up, "another assassin."

"Exactly," Rossi said, "I would call up another assassin and get them in on a plan to kidnap her."

Morgan cocked an eyebrow, "that's not too much of a stretch. But you'd have to make sure that the assassin is someone that is capable of taking down the other. They'd have to follow her, stalk her, and know her every move. So that when they do attack, they'd be able to predict her reactions."

"But stalking the person is too much of a risk. Someone like Charlotte would notice instantly if she was being tailed, right?" JJ asked.

"A job like hers would make someone very paranoid," Hotch stated plainly.

"She was paranoid," came Reid's timid voice. It was very throaty, as though he hadn't spoken in several hours, which was true. "She had five locks on her front door, a state-of-the-art security system, and her own set of cameras placed precariously throughout the house. She also hid a few guns and weapons in each room, just in case."

The others all turned to face him, surprised. "Exactly how many times did you go to her place Reid?" Morgan asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Enough to take notice," he replied shortly. "But back to the question at hand; even if I were rich, I'd have to make sure that the person I hired can do the job quickly and effectively, without being seen as a threat. Charlotte would be too reluctant to come close to anyone who knew her name, especially if they were a complete stranger."

"So whoever did this clearly knew her, just enough so that her guard was down," Hotch began.

"And then attack her," Rossi continued.

"The person would need to know Charlotte's every move, skill level, technique, everything" Morgan added.

"And know how to overpower her," JJ hypothesized.

"Which means. . . ." Kate asked.

"The person that was after her taught her," Reid finished.

The others looked at one another for a moment before Morgan spoke up, "but she was taught by the Russian Mob, and they blew up the entire compound where she was training, as well as those who taught her, not to mention any family members she had."

"What if she wasn't taught by one person, but several?" Kate asked once more. "The mob is huge, with hundreds of members-"

"All of which hate her because she turned her back on them. She singlehandedly managed to get a huge chunk of them offed because of the Feds. Those people probably had families," Morgan intervened.

"Families that want revenge," Prentiss added.

Everyone jumped as they saw their old teammate standing in the doorway, just as she did two years ago when JJ went missing, and just as she did when she returned from Paris to look for Ian Doyle.

"Emily, what in the world-?" Morgan began, looking at her in shock. Although she had a tendency to drop by, she often did so unexpectedly, and when the team was in a dire situation.

"So," she said, taking a seat at the table, "what were the names of these people?" she asked, pulling out her laptop, and connecting to the bureau's internet.

"Well, we have David Klaus, the Cortez family, and Igor Avksentiy. These names are the most recurring out of the lot. And they've suffered the most jail time because of Charlotte," Rossi said, passing a few files to Prentiss, who promptly began searching up the names on the Interpool database.

"Okay, I have a hit on one Rodrigo Cortez. He came to America about two months ago, but he purchased property here a year ago," Prentiss began, "2334 Automatic Road."

Garcia quickly did a search on her laptop, "it's an abandoned factory, just outside of the city."

Everyone stood up and pulled on their jackets, "let's go," Hotch said leading everyone out of the room.

The clock struck twelve, and at this point, the room was filled with people, all aiming their weapons at Charlotte.

"Time's run out little girl," said an old man at the front of the group. He hobbled up to the front, leaning heavily on his cane. "Tell us where the money is, or we will kill you."

A few people cocked the hammer on their weapons.

Charlotte analyzed the situation before responding, "you do realize that if you kill me, the last person who knows where the money is will be dead."

"So?" yelled a man at the front.

"You won't ever be able to find it. You'll spend the rest of your days wandering the world, digging blindly, until you have no will left." She looked at a few of the men, who lowered their weapons in consideration. "Seems like a pitiful way to go, if you ask me." She noticed, that a few more people had lowered their weapons.

"Nikov, get her untied and lead her to the cars. She'll tell us where it is soon enough," the old man said, as he hobbled backward and through the crowd.


	11. Chapter 11

"Get in the car, and if you so much as whisper, I will rip your vocal chords out and make you wear them as a trophy," said Avksentiy as he tossed her into the back of a GMC.

She placed herself directly in the centre of the seat, able to see the road from between the two front seats. Avksentiy clambered in on her right, while Klaus reluctantly sat on her left. He then proceded to handcuff her to himself, as did Avksentiy. "Planning on a fun game of Red Rover when this is done?" she said. Klaus inhaled deeply, placing his head in his hands, while Avksentiy grabbed Charlotte's throat and began to squeeze.

"Enough Igor," said the old man, as he hopped into the passenger's seat at the front of the car. "She won't be of any use if she can't talk, now will she?" he said, as he took off his Aviators. The old man stayed more to the shadows than any of the others who'd been in on the plan. She'd recognized all of them the moment she saw their faces. Besides Klaus and the Cortez family, the rest were all people that she'd seen throughout her years in the Mob. She'd recognized everyone except for the old man, who was in the car when she was first kidnapped from her apartment. At the time however, he was reluctant to speak, sit, or even look at her. Now, he was the man who was calling the shots. He turned to face Charlotte, his face still hidden, "you will tell us where the money is, or we will go after your team. Understand?"

Charlotte nodded, her face set. Another, heavy man who she hadn't seen before came and sat at the driver's seat, and started the car. She looked past Klaus and saw another three vehicles leaving the compound as well. "So where exactly are we going?" she asked, mustering a polite voice.

"You'll see, my lovely," said the driver.

Charlotte froze, instantly recognizing the voice. "James?" she asked, praying that she was wrong.

She could see the man's smile in the rearview mirror, "first names already? I didn't know you were that excited to see me. We'll need to have a little- ahem- chat soon, right? It's been much too long since I've seen you. I want to know just how much has changed."

Charlotte blanched, _well, I've really gotten myself into a shit-fest now, haven't I?_

"Take the second left," Garcia's voice said over the speaker.

Morgan reacted quickly, passing the first and swerving into the second.

"Just keep going down it's the huge building on the right, at the end of the road," she said.

"Got it mama," he said, stepping on the gas. The car went barreling to the end of the road, and everyone held on to something as Morgan swerved into the lot. He slammed the breaks, and proceeded to jump out of the car. The SWAT vans pulled up behind them and began to unload their people.

"Be careful you guys," Garcia's voice said one last time over JJ's phone.

"We will," she replied as she tucked the mobile away in her pocket and unholstered her gun. The team went around to the back of the lot, taking some of the SWAT personnel with them. Slowly, they pushed open one of the doors and filed into a long hallway, where a large table with empty chairs and plates of food was left.

"Keep going down the hall," mimed Hotch as they continued pass the tale and through another set of open doors. They checked each room as they passed, and all were empty. They soon met up with the other SWAT officers and turned down to the left, where a huge set of soundproof doors led to the upper levels. The pushed the doors open and began to creep up the stairs, stopping when the saw a shadow on the wall.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Hotch said, as they all poured up the staircase, and onto the upper level, where it was just one giant room, filled with men. The teams tackled down the members and began to handcuff them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Morgan saw a huge man running to a small set of doors he hadn't noticed before. He tore down the hallway, and tackled the man, forcing his hands into a pair of cuffs. "Where is she?!" he yelled, shoving the man into the wall. "Where is she?" he repeated.

The rest of the team ran up behind Morgan, their guns trained on the man, whose face was pressed against the wall.

"You won't find 'er" he said, his thick Russian accent filling the air. "She'll be dead soon enough."

Hotch went around and pushed open the two doors. As soon as he did, a mixture of shock and disgust was etched upon his face.

"What is it?" Reid said, heading around his boss, and through the doors. HE stopped in the middle of the small room. Staring back at him were photos of Charlotte, her apartment, just photos of her going about her everyday life. Mixed in with these photos were ones of himself, while at her apartment. There w. ere circles around his face in red marker. In the centre of the room was a small desk, with maps of Virgina strewn across the top. He picked one up, and analyzed it. There were several locations, each of them numbered 1 through 7. "Hey guys," he began, taking the map out of the room and to where they all stood. "I think this is where they're going."

Hotch took the map, "they're taking her on a trip down memory lane."

"Which ends at a stop at the Memorial Cemetery," Rossi added. "She doesn't have much time. If she doesn't give them what they want, she's gone."

"Agent Hotchner," said a SWAT member from the other side of the room, "you might want to see this."

Hotch folded up the map as they ran over to the man. On a small table at the end of the room, in a little mason jar was the top of a finger. He sighed before telling the team what they all suspected, "it's hers."

"First stop, a little place known as _Slim Rick's,_" said Viktor, as he pulled into the empty lot of the diner. She tell that the diner had closed up for the night.

Charlotte sat stunned. "How do you know-."

"Please, you can't be serious," said Viktor as he held the door open for Klaus, Charlotte, and Avksentiy. "I've been keeping tabs on you sweetheart."

She gave him a disgusted look as she was dragged out of the van by Klaus. The old man hobbled to the front of the group, with a crowbar in the hand not holding the cane. He was wearing a huge floppy sun hat, which was odd given that it was about 2 in the morning. He crept up to the door and placed the bar by the lock. With an effortless tug, the door flew open, and they dragged Charlotte in.

It was pitch black for a moment, but when the lights flared on, Charlotte felt her eyes melting due to the harsh light. They sat her down on one of the wooden chairs, and began to chain her to it. "Why are we here?" she asked.

"Well, this is one of the first places you went to with your new team. And we thought letting you revisit these places before you die is the least we could do. As we recall, these were the best months of your life, right?" the old man said, his head facing the floor.

"Alright, now how does this help us find the money?" asked Cortez, who'd joined the party.

"Well, if she wants to keep working with her team she can tell us where it is. Otherwise, there won't be a team to work with," said the old man.

"Meaning?" Charlotte asked coolly.

"Remember back when you killed Rokov? And we had to blow up the entire compound to get rid of the evidence?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Well, we just evacuated the building we were in. And we got the most important members out. You see, your team was looking for you, and we knew it was only a matter of time until they would find out that Cortez here, had a building under his name. We kept tabs on anyone who searched for it, and it alerted us when someone from your team looked it up. That's why we had to move you, or they'd find us. Now, depending on whether or not you cooperate, your team could be in one place, or several. Understand?" he said, leaning on his cane as he pulled out a little remote control with a bright red button.

Charlotte swallowed, "I do."

"Good, now let's take you to site number 2. Oh, and Kiyev, stay behind in case those Feds come a-knocking."

"What's the first site," Kate asked, as they huddled around the finger.

"175 Charlton West," said Reid, looking at the map. "Wait, that's Slim Rick's."

Morgan looked up at him, "Son of a bitch. Let's go."

They hurried back outside and piled into the two large vans outside. They went barreling in the same direction that they'd come from, past the FBI headquarters, and onto Charlton. A few moments later, they were out by the diner, guns out, and ready to attack.

Morgan did the honour f kicking the door down and within three minutes they'd zeroed in on a lone man in the diner, who failed at trying to attack the agents.

"Where's Charlotte Romanoff?" Hotch asked, as the man smiled lazily back at him.

"K tomu vremeni, vy naydete yeye, ona budet razorvana na kuski" said the man, laughing heavily. (By the time you find her she'll be torn into pieces).

Reid stepped in front of the man, clearly angry while the team backed away, scared. "Skazhi mne, gde ona yest', ili tak Bog pomozhet mne , ya budu rvat' vas na kuski i pochtovykh bit vas obratno k svoyey materi . Ponyal?" he said. (Tell me where she is, or so God help me, I will tear you limb from limb and mail bits of you back to your mother. Understood?).

The man's eyes widened before saying two words, "Russian Embassy."

Reid turned to face the others, "let's go."

"So Romanoff, what do you want to do after you tell us where the money is?" Viktor asked, as he opened up the door to the van.

Charlotte grasped his outstreatched hand and used it to steady herself as she stepped out of the vehicle. The old man had decided to blind fold her so that she would be unable to find her way back home, as well as break her left legs. You wouldn't want to make an escape too easy. "Kill you," she replied solemnly.

They removed the blindfold, and she blinked furiously, allowing her eyes to adjust. In the dark night, she managed to make out the outline of a large square building, roughly seven stories high, with small, slit-like windows. They slowly marched her up the path to a large oak door, which was promptly forced open by two of the henchmen. The old man twirled his cane in his hand, his gnarled fingers grasping the long piece of mahogany. He led the group in and up the main marble staircase. While it was dark and the only light source was that of the moon through the windows, Charlotte could see that the building itself was a government one. The American and Russian flags could be spotted several times on each floor. Desks stood empty, each covered with a mound of files. It reminded Charlotte sorely of the BAU office in Quantico.

"So, know where we are?" asked the old man as they travelled up one staircase at a time.

"A government building," she answered honestly. She felt Viktor's hands on both her shoulders as he helped her up the steps. He gave them a little squeeze before planting a kiss on the nape of her neck. She jerked away suddenly, and nearly knocked Klaus and Avksentiy down the stairs (they were still handcuffed to her).

Klaus shot her a dark look, as he regained his composure and continued up the last few steps, while Avksentiy backhanded Viktor. "Can you not control yourself Viktor?" Klaus asked, as they arrived at the top landing.

Viktor rubbed his cheek, "well when you find a jewel like this, it's hard to restrain yourself," he replied, smacking Charlotte on the bum before going around the three and opening the large doors at the end of the hall for the old man.

"Après Vous, madam" said Viktor, holding the door open for Avksentiy, Klaus and Charlotte. The two men started to walk forward, dragging Charlotte along.

"Go f*** yourself," she replied.

"Can we get the helicopter or what?" asked Rossi as he and the team drove along the I-95 at the highest speed allowed.

"No, apparently this isn't urgent enough," Hotch replied over the phone. He, Kate, and JJ were in the other vehicle.

"So what, we risk her getting killed?" Morgan shouted into the phone, his eyes still plastered on the road.

Reid heard Hotch sigh, "taking the helicopter would've been against protocol. You know how many times this team's been in these situations. We might as well have our own TV show."

Reid, however, wasn't amused, "she basically brought this upon herself." He could feel everyone stop and consider his words. Even Rossi turned to face him, concerned. "If she'd told us, then we would have been able to protect her."

"We all have our secrets Reid," Rossi replied, attempting to calm the genius down.

"But you don't hide your secrets from your family," he whispered.

"So, by now you can guess what we're doing, hmm?" asked the old man. He was sitting in a large leather chair, looking over a huge maple desk and at Charlotte, who was bound to a chair in front of him.

Viktor was monitoring the door, while Klaus and Avksentiy flanked the desk.

"Taking me on a road trip?" she replied sardonically. She was attempting to see who this old man was. The voice she recognized, as she did with the cane. The man kept himself in the shadows, as well as wearing ridiculously huge hats and sunglasses.

"Your witty conjecture will not help you, my child" he replied slowly. "You took everything we loved when you killed Rokov. So naturally, we will do the same to you." He stood up slowly, using the cane for support.

Charlotte was taken aback, "Wait, you cared about Rokov? Is it just me, or did everyone seem to hate him a little when he was alive."

The old man turned to face her, "he was one of my most trusted men. I taught him like I taught my sons. I handpicked him out of the hundreds of children that I taught. And he in turn, picked you to teach." He was beginning to shake, although it was unclear whether it was from anger, sadness, or old age.

Charlotte nodded slowly, "so in a way, you taught me?" she asked hesitantly.

He laughed before answering, "I did teach you. You'd think most kids would remember their idol, right

moy povstantsev (my rebel)."

Charlotte's mind went haywire "There was only one person who called me that."

"Aye," said the man, removing his hat and glasses slowly. He stepped into the light of one of the lamps and Charlotte's breath caught in her throat. He looked exactly as she remembered. The slightly large nose, and the green eyes, the grey hair with flecks of black (although the last time she'd seen it, it was black with flecks of grey), the slightly hunched shoulders, and bulky arms. She could see parts of his neck, still covered in the same old tattoos that were there before. The large, gnarled hands with chipped fingernails and small cuts that had held her as a child, and had helped her fire her first gun, throw her first knife, and build her first engine.

"Dedushka (grandpa)," she said quietly.

**This whole abduction thing is going to end in the next chapter, and yeah, hello for plot twists. Because I know a lot of people will ask "Why doesn't she recognize her grandpa?" Well to answer your question, 1) He didn't show his face the entire time she was captured, 2) She left Russia (and her Grandpa) at the young age of 10, and 3) she hasn't seen, thought, or heard of him since. People age ladies and gentlemen :P**

**Oh and if you're waiting for the next Marauder's chapter; that'll be done by Saturday. **


	12. Chapter 12

Charlotte stood there in complete shock. All around her, the rest of her captors traded smug looks, and she could hear the clink of change being passed through hands. She ignored the fact that the majority had been betting money on her perceptiveness, and put her mind to the task at hand. _Alright, he taught me basically everything that I know. But he doesn't know what skills I've learnt while working at the BAU or for MI6, so naturally he's expecting something that is new. And even though he's old, he's still very sharp. He'll be prepared for something new, and something old. Well that settles things; I'm screwed. _She looked back at her Dedushka and smiled, "so now what? You wouldn't kill your best student, your granddaughter, would you? I mean, what would Babushka say if she was here?" she asked, knowing how well her grandparents cared for one another, before her grandma had passed away.

Dedushka smiled cruelly, "you think invoking her memory will get you out of this? She's dead, and I've moved on. All I want from you is to know where the money from Dimitri is?"

Charlotte took a step back, forgetting that her getting everyone killed was not the only reason the faces of her past had been after her. "How do you know about Dimitri, he was after your time. What happened between he and I is my business, and mine alone."

"Oh, but I am involved, more than you can imagine. You see, he met you in Café Loco on Clarks Rd, and from there, the pair of you were inseparable. From the day you met till the day he died, and everything he had, was given to you. The problem is; his father owed me a huge debt."

Charlotte's mouth dropped, "you had people tailing me? God, that is so twisted. And as for Dimitri's father, he was an entrepreneur, and all his money came from his job as an accountant for Imperial United. He didn't owe you a dime."

"Oh but he did," said Dedushka, as he paced the length of the room, "Dimitri's father was an accountant, that part is true. But Imperial United was a shelf company, which only existed on paper. A shelf company I created, as a cover for the financials of the mafia. Dimitri's father, Avkin, was an accountant for me. And he embezzled money from the mafia, to start up his business venture, and thus quit working for me. He stared his multi-million dollar company with my money, and when the old bastard dropped dead, he left everything to his son and daughter-in-law. And when Dimitri got shot by my men, we found out that everything was left to his wife, to you."

The look of shock on Charlotte's face immediately turned into outrage, "you killed him! You killed Dimitri! Dedushka how could you, after all I did for you. Trying to make you proud as a doctor, as a lawyer, as an engineer. Creating things with my mind because you told me that it was a gift that shouldn't be wasted. You took everything that mattered to me, just so you could get your money back?!"

Dedushka turned toward her, anger etched upon his face. "Don't talk to me about loss, child. I lost my wife, my sons, my daughters, my entire sem'ya (family) because of your stubbornness. You lost one person and suddenly I should pity you? It was my money that brought you two together, and it is I who shall rip you apart."

Charlotte's mind was filled with so much anger and rage, that she didn't notice Dedushka pulling a small knife out of the top of the cane.

"Tell me where the money is! TELL ME!" he screamed, brandishing the knife in the air.

Charlotte pushed her grief and anger aside, smiling politely, knowing what she said next would destroy not only her grandfather, but the other men as well. "It's gone."

Klaus, Cortez, Aviksentiy, and Viktor turned to face her, while Dedushka's arms sagged, under the weight of the information.

"Gone," he spluttered, "what do you mean gone?"

"I mean, I no longer have it," she said simply.

"That was well over a billion dollars, how did your idiot of a child lose it?" Klaus said disgustedly. Cortez pulled out a gun from his waistband and cocked a bullet. Aviksentiy made a cutthroat signal in Charlotte's direction, while Viktor smiled blankly.

"I didn't say I lost it. I said that I don't have it," she said rapidly. She looked around the room for anything that could double as a knife, the ropes around her arms and legs would make it difficult for her to fight her way out of the imminent attack.

"It's the same thing," Cortez said. "And at any rate, I think I ought to get a cut for coming up with this whole plan. What's an old codger like you going to do with that much money?" he continued, turning to Dedushka, who pulled out a revolver from his waistband and pointed it at the Mexican.

"If I wanted to come after her, I would have. I didn't need you to create a plan I had my own one. OR are you forgetting how she managed to kill your old man?" he retorted.

The two began fighting, which (luckily) caused a diversion and distracted Klaus, Aviksentiy, and Viktor from watching Charlotte. She hobbled over to the table, where a decorative, yet functional box cutter lay across the desk, with the symbol of Soviet Russia on it. She managed to slip it into her hands and began to undo the knots. When they gave way, she bent down and began to do the same to the rope that bound her legs together. She worked furiously at the rope, and soon she was free. She crept to the door, her back to the men arguing behind her. Just as she pushed the oak doors open, she heard a gunshot ring out behind her, and she fell to the floor.

"GET HER!" a voice yelled.

"How much longer?" JJ called out over the phone. Hotch's car was speeding along behind Rossi's and they were barreling down 37th St and soon pulled to a halt at the bottom of the drive. Morgan called out for backup, while JJ and Kate began to talk strategy. Reid, however, stood still, looking up at the large embassy building at the top of the drive. _She's in there. She's in there, and we're literally two hundred steps away, or less. She's probably alone, defenseless, and scared. Actually, she's not scared. But judging how long they've had her, she's probably very beat up. _He looked back to the others, who were waiting patiently for SWAT and the local police force to arrive.

Hotch noticed Reid's agitation and walked towards him, "we'll find her," he said.

And just like that, Reid had a flashback to three years prior where Morgan said the exact same words to him. Reid took a deep breath before saying, "I don't want another Maeve incident Hotch."

The older man looked at him, sterner than ever. Reid could see the lights of police cars, and the large black SWAT van following closely behind them. He looked back at Hotch, "go in. NOW!"

Reid nodded before running through the gates and up the drive. He heard Hotch yell something back to the others, who screamed in agreement. He heard them running as well, but didn't look back. He'd made it to the top of the hill and was unholstering his weapon. Just as he opened up the door, he heard a gunshot echo from one of the topmost levels. His blood went cold.

Charlotte grunted as she swung the door open anyway. She could feel the pain in her upper arm, where her Dedushka had taken a wild shot. The blood began to soak the side of her shirt, and she stopped in the large hallway, listening for any footsteps. She heard a loud banging sound coming from behind her, and she ducked into another office, leaving the door ajar.

She sat down in one of the chairs, and ripped the bottom of her tank top off, using the fabric to restrict and apply pressure to the wound. She also took the moment to look at the stump that used to be her ring finger. The tip was still sore, but the blood had stopped oozing, and had congealed at the top, she inspected it for infection, and decided that for a stump, it was healthy.

She hobbled back to the door, and peaked out of the room. She didn't see or hear anyone coming, and decided that it was safe to sneak out and into the hall. She crept along the edge, testing all the doorknobs to see which ones were open and which weren't. When she reached the end of the hall, she noticed one of the decorative cabinets, filled with the sharpest, longest, and deadliest decorative knives she'd ever seen. _Desperate times call for desperate measures_, she thought, as she braced herself against the glass. With one swift blow, she broke through the glass case with her leg, and grabbed a few of the weapons, tucking the smaller blades into her waistband and pockets along with the cutter. Feeling a little more at odds with her captors, she began walking back to their room. She felt the adrenaline, anger, and guilt coarse through her veins as she walked. _If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, _she thought.

Just as she rounded the corridor, all hell broke loose.

"Reid, what are we doing?" Morgan said, as he got shoulder to shoulder with the taller agent. They both had their weapons drawn and were creeping towards the bottom of the staircase.

"We're going to find Charlotte, beat the shit out of whoever was after her, and then I'm going to interrogate the shit out of her," Reid replied angrily, as he began to ascend the staircase.

Morgan took a slight step back while smirking. He'd never seen Reid this riled up before. _Being with Charlotte might actually do this boy some good,_ he thought. Morgan quickly jerked around after hearing the shatter of glass from the top story._ That's if she makes it out of this alive,_ he added as an afterthought.

Charlotte took a nasty punch to the face from Klaus, who had his gun drawn and his left hand curled into a fist. She took a step back, ignoring the burning sensation in her nose, and the wateriness in her eyes. She stared him down for a moment, looking at where his defences were weakest. He held his gun loosely, meaning his left hand was dominant, and because he was using it to punch, his right hand had to steady his gun. Knowing that this meant his right hand was weaker, she feinted left, and at the last moment possible shifted all her weight to the right and brought Klaus down, gun and all. She placed her knee on his chest and drove one of the knives straight into his throat. He immediately went still, his eyes looking up at her blankly.

She didn't linger for long, as she heard Cortez coming down the hall, a switchblade in his hand. Charlotte, curled her hands into fists and ran toward him, with full force. He matched the pace, and soon, the pair body checked one another and flew back a few feet. They took a moment to steady themselves, Charlotte, wiping Klaus' blood off her hands, and Cortez, sizing up his opponent.

"Think you can beat me in an old fashioned hand-to-hand?" he said cockily, tucking the knife away as the two circled one another.

"I don't think I can. I know I can," Charlotte replied defiantly, as she lunged towards him. He dodged her and brought his hands down on her spine with such force, that she fell face down onto the floor. She felt the air being ripped from her lungs, as she lay on the floor. A moment later, she was lifted up by the neck, and brought face-first back onto the floor. Once, twice, and thrice. She felt the blood come pouring out of her nose-which, at this point-was clearly broken. Her head was spinning and she took a moment to regain her thoughts, before Cortez slid a foot under her, and flipped her over, so he was standing above her. He bent down, and placed both of his heavy legs on either side of her body, and sat on top of her legs, effectively pinning her down.

"Think you can win, princess?" he asked, pulling out his switchblade again and tossing it from hand to hand. "Tell me where the money is and I'll let you go."

She smiled sourly, "I'm not that stupid, but you on the other hand-" she braced her body before pushing herself up and coming face to face with him, "completely are." Charlotte grabbed him on either side of the head, and twisted sharply. She heard a horrible, yet exciting _crack_ and got up quickly.

She pulled out another knife and headed towards the room. But before she could enter, Aviksentiy walked out and shut the door behind him. He folded his arms and stood like a mountain; unwilling to move and unwilling to fight. "You will not win, child" he smirked.

Charlotte braced herself against a doorframe before running straight at the man. She gained a little momentum before she heard a laugh and felt two large arms wrap around her body and pick her up off the floor.

Aviksentiy had her in a full-body lock and was slowly squeezing her to death. She felt her spine crack once more, and her legs began to flail about. Luckily, she managed to aim one of her legs directly at Aviksentiy's crotch, and the mountain instantly dropped her like a sack of potatoes, and began nursing his- er- man parts.

This was enough of a distraction for Charlotte, who picked up one of the larger knifes out of her waistband and drove it straight into Aviksentiy's chest. He stiffened up a little, before falling to the floor, where he began to twitch.

She continued towards the room, and the door swung open once more, and Viktor emerged. He shut the door behind himself and walked towards her, his hands in the air. "I don't have any weapons. I come in peace," he said. He came face to face with her, his hand still in the air. "Call off your little vendetta, and join me. I think that if I introduce you as my wife to dedushka, he'll forgive you."

Charlotte laughed erratically, "Do you really think that I want to be with you? I spent a majority of my life running from the mob, and you. You were probably one of the worst people I have ever met. I honestly can't wait to be rid of you. It's something I should've done a long time ago." She gave him a quick kiss, and sunk another, smaller hand-knife into his gut. "Rot in hell, motherf**ker." He dropped to the ground, like a rock, and Charlotte stepped on the body as she walked to the door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the two doors.

"So, you got through all four of them yes?" Dedushka said, as he stood behind the desk. His knife was in his hand, and Charlotte pulled out one last blade from her pocket; the box cutter. "I didn't expect anything less of you. Your failure would've proven that I was an incapable and ineffective teacher."

"I think you did alright. I mean, besides blowing people up, and trying to kill your only grandchild because of an unpaid debt," Charlotte replied sarcastically.

Dedushka laughed, just as loudly as he did back when Charlotte was a child and had done something foolish or genius. "You haven't changed at all, even while being apart from your family," he said, his eyes glimmering.

"You are not my family," she snarled, gripping the cutter tightly. Dedushka walked around the desk, his legs shaking from the amount of strain placed upon them. "Just give me the word, and I will wakl you out of here and to jail. They will take care of you, pay your medical bills, and make sure you get fed. They have special facilities for people your age. Just don't make me do this," she said, a tear carving it's way down her cheek.

While she knew that she was going to end up fighting him (he'd never been one to walk away form a challenge, no matter how unfit he was), she never thought it would be after days of endless torture, starvation, and quite frankly, she thought he'd be slightly stronger. At the moment, even with all of her injuries, she still felt as though she were fighting an extremely old, fragile and delicate person.

Dedushka smiled, genuinely this time. "I do not want to go to a facility, or to jail. I don't want you to do anything for me. It's fine, you don't regard me as family, I will not do the same to you. From now on, you are not my child, but an enemy. And that is how I will fight you. All I want to know, before I kill you, is where the money is."

Charlotte took a shaky breath, "the money is gone."

Dedushka shook with rage, "YOU SAID THAT BEFORE, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

"It means that I donated it. All of it. I split it up, and sent it out amongst several charities. IT'S GONE!" she spat.

Dedushka closed his eyes, "no, no, how could you do such a thing?"

"Very happily," she replied.

Dedushka gave her one last, long look. "Well, I guess there isn't much point in keeping you here any longer," and he drove his blade towards her.

"I guess the same goes for you," she replied.

She sidestepped easily, banking on the fact that Dedushka was off-balance due to his legs. Quite the contrary, he managed to recover, and swipe away Charlotte's first blow. The pair sized one another up, and began to circle one another, just like she and Morgan had done back in Quantico. Charlotte heard people rushing up the large stone steps and onto their floor. He looked back at Dedushka who'd made another lunge at Charlotte. Dedushka used his height against her, and managed to snag the tip of the blade by the outer corner of her right eye, and dragged the blade down the side of her face till it reached the right corner of her mouth and cut free.

The shallow wound dripped blood on Charlotte's already bruised and bloodied face. She ignored the searing pain, and moved forward again, using Dedushka's close proximity against him. She kicked him in the stomach, before swiftly delivering a sharp blow to the jugular. The old man stopped, and began to gasp for air, dropping down to his knees. Charlotte turned her back towards him and used this time to call out, "we're in the large room on the right wing. Come quickly-" her voice was cut off, as she felt a cold gust of air between the middle of her shoulderblades.

She turned quickly, and saw Dedushka still on his knees, gasping for air but with a smile on his face. Charlotte glanced down at his hands and noticed that the knife was gone, which meant only one thing; it was in her back. She immediately felt pain, pain like she'd never felt before. She saw Morgan and Reid come into the room from the corner of her eye, followed by some large men and women dressed in all black.

She wanted to say something to them, but her sole focus was on the old, wrinkled man in front of her. "You caused me so much pain," she said as he laughed. "So much misery. All I ever wanted was to make you proud. But I guess no matter how hard I tried, I can't do it. But this is payback for everything you put me through, you sick bastard." She grasped onto the boxcutter, and in one swift move brought it across her dedushka's throat, "_Do svidanya._" He fell back to the floor, withering for a few seconds before going completely still, his eyes empty of their usual glimmer.

"Russia, just hang on," Charlotte head Morgan's voice say. "MEDIC, WE NEED A MEDIC!" She felt someone lift her off of the floor and onto a nearby chair. Charlotte couldn't seem to focus on anything. Her eyesight was marred by black splotches, and the pain of her wounds (emotional, mental and physical) were beginning to overwhelm her. She saw Reid come into her line of vision.

"I'm going to get you up and on to the gurney, alright?" he said.

Charlotte nodded slowly, and felt Morgan and Reid lift her up on either side. They helped her over to the EMTs and Morgan lifted her up gently, before placing her on her side. "We have to keep you like this so the knife doesn't go in any deeper," one of the medic's explained as they began to carry her down the stairs. She felt something brush near her hand, and saw that it was Reid. He gently held her hand as they continued down the steps, and onto the main floor.

Charlotte could see the other members of the team waiting by the doors. Kate and JJ had tears in their eyes, while Rossi and Hotch were smiling at her. They got outside, and the cold summer air went straight through the blanket, causing a painful shiver to go up Charlotte's spine. The cold, however, managed to numb the pain temporarily, as she was loaded into the ambulance. She felt Reid's hand leave hers for a moment, and she began to get tense. Fortunately, it found its way back into hers and she began to calm down.

"It's over," Reid's voice said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

Charlotte smiled weakly, "yeah. It is."

**So there it is, the next chapter of Reid and Learn. Oh and as for the Marauders Years, I've decided to end it where it is . . . JUST KIDDING! Nah, I'm working on the next chapter, I just was reworking the entire plot for the rest of the school years, so that's why this story took a bit of a back seat. **

**Oh and I'm also writing a few oneshots for PERCY JACKSON as well as the HEROES OF OLYMPUS series as well, just as a way to clear my head up, because it gets tiring writing the same material each day. I don't know when they will be up, but the gist of it is about Nico's trip into TARTARUS and how Annabeth and Percy first react on the ship after they make it out. I also re-read both of those series' and am now in the middle of reading the MORTAL INSTRUMENTS (please, no spoilers!). **

**As always READ AND REVIEW, because that's what makes me want to post more frequently 3**


	13. Chapter 13

The ride in the ambulance was a complete blur for Charlotte, who kept floating in and out of consciousness.

Reid however, was still awake, despite not having slept for two-almost three-days. He was stilling the ambulance, thankful that for once, it was not him lying down in the gurney. The medics were attempting to stem the blood that was slowly finding its way around the knife wound in Charlotte's back. Reid was still in shock from the way Charlotte had looked when he first saw her in the room.

_Flashback_

_Morgan was right behind me, both of us had our weapons out and trained for any of the bodies that were in the hallway. The floor and walls were covered in splatters of blood, which stood out against the white marble inside. One of them was still squirming, a tall, good-looking man with a lanky build, much like myself. I tried not to look at him, but I couldn't help it. He had a small knife buried in his gut, blood pouring out of the wound and pooling on the floor next to him. The entire hallway was like that. Grown men with knives shoved into their necks, heads, and stomachs. One of the men's heads was turned completely to the side, bones jutting out, the eyes wide open with shock. I continued down the hall and to the large room at the end, where the door was slightly ajar. Taking a breath I pushed it open and was shocked and disgusted by the sight inside. _

_The room, which was probably very polished and neatly organized, was completely damaged. There were broken artefacts all over the floor, papers scattered round the desk, chairs overturned and shards of glass all over the floor. I took a moment to survey the two people who were in the room; an old man who was on his knees in what used to be a very expensive three piece suit. He had a white beard, which was neatly trimmed, as was his white hair. His skin was light and was covered in age spots and wrinkles. It was his eyes that stood out; bright green. They were the exact pair that Reid found himself thinking about for the majority of the day and night. A pair that he'd become accustomed to seeing every day at work. Charlotte's eyes. Which meant that this man was clearly related to her in some way. _

_This idea seemed odd, especially when he noticed the look of pure malice and anger with which the man was looking at Charlotte. _

_Charlotte who was also on her knees, facing the man and speaking to him. She looked angry, tired, and sad all at the same time. Every inch of her skin was covered with bruises, burns, and cuts the majority of which were minor. The tip of her ring finger was missing on one hand, the same hand that held a rather fancy-looking boxcutter. _Oh, the irony_, I thought. It was then that I took a moment to look at her face. Her face that usually held the barest trace of makeup, because it was already so flawless. A face that would have given the most beautiful woman in the world a run for her money. But not anymore, for it was marred by one large gash on the right side of her face, from eye to lip, like some sort of sinister smile. Her teeth were bared, like a tigers, and her hands were shaking with anger. And before Morgan or I could stop her, she quickly stuck the boxcutter into the man's throat and dragged it sideways. Blood poured out form the wound, as the man clutched at his throat with his hands. A second later, he hit the ground-dead. _

_Charlotte looked pleased with her work, but the look of peace and pleasure was quickly removed with one of pain, as tears poured from her eyes. She moved slightly so that her back was facing us, and Morgan and I noticed the problem immediately. The handle of a knife was protruding from the space between her shoulder blades, and blood had been trickling down the wound since. As Morgan called for a medic, I rushed forward and tried to keep her upright, helping her into a chair as the medics hauled the gurneys up the stairs. _

Now I was sitting in an ambulance, watching as an older woman stitched up the wounds as best as she could. "She's losing a lot of blood, step on it Roday" she said. The man muttered something rude, before slamming his foot down on the acceleration.

Reid held on to one of the small straps dangling from the top of the van, peering through the window behind him as the van hurtled its way through the dead intersections. He swallowed the bile making its way up his throat and turned to the older woman, "excuse me, but how long until we get to the hospital?" he asked, trying not to seem as though he were frustrated –which was hard to do.

She smiled at him kindly, her green eyes glittering, "we'll be there in a minute, literally. But for now, she's got to hold on." Just as she finished this sentence, the EKG machine made a dull beeping sound. The pair looked at it and watched as Charlotte's heart rate dropped, until there was one solid line at the bottom of the scream. He could feel something begin to hollow away inside of him, and watched silently as the woman began to pull out the defibrillators. "Clear!" she yelled, as Roday sped up.

No response.

"CLEAR!" she said, pressing down and hoping that the increase in voltage would be enough to resuscitate Charlotte. She looked up at Reid who was unable to respond to the scene, he felt as though he were paralyzed.

Reid closed his eyes, attempting to block out the scene, however, he could still hear the lady talking to Roday. It was only when she said his name that he opened up his eyes. His brown eyes latched onto her green ones, as he listened to the steady whirr and beeps of the machine. "She's stable, and we're at the hospital."

Reid nodded as the doors of the ambulance opened and he was able to jump out as the nurses helped unload Charlotte out of the back of the van. A doctor ran up to assess Charlotte, and that is when Reid felt all of the words come flying out of his mouth. "Is she okay? When will she be examined? She has a knife wound and God knows how many others, you have to help her. She's your top priority. Save her."

The paramedics nodded silently before whisking Charlotte away into one of the operation rooms. Reid sat down in one of the chairs that lined the hallway. A few others were seated, their loved ones in the room as well. Reid sat in silence, replaying the events of the past hour as he waited for news of Charlotte. He was sharply awoken by Morgan, who apparently had arrived as well. Hotch and the rest of the team were sitting across from Reid.

JJ gave him a look of encouragement while Kate sat still, both hands placed around her pregnant stomach, and looked increasingly nervous. Rossi was on his fifth-or sixth cup of coffee and looked like he was ready for the next one. Hotch was on the phone, most likely with Jack, and had a small smile on his mouth while he attempted to amuse he son. Garcia and Morgan were sitting a few seats away, with Garcia's head rested on Morgan's shoulder. The pair of them had become close with Charlotte in the past few months and were trying to console one another.

A few more hours passed, and just as Reid was standing up to call the surgeon, the man walked out of the operation room, removing his gloves and had a grim look upon his face.

"Are you the man who came in with Miss Charlotte Romanoff?" he asked, surveying the rest of the team as he spoke to Reid. Reid nodded quickly in response. The surgeon sighed before going on, "she lost a lot of blood on the way in, but luckily enough we managed to get the knife out and stabilize her. The shaft was quite long and the tip was just nudging the Th4 and Th5 of the vertebrae. A few inches more and she may have been unable to walk for a few years. We managed to get it out without any damage, so she should be on her feet within two or three weeks, max. However, she will need quite a bit of bedrest and shouldn't be too physically active within the next three of four months. Physiotherapy would be the best choice. However, there is some more bad news. While we managed to get the knife out, she had a broken rib, so that'll need time to heal as well as numerous bruises, cuts and burns all over the body. Then there's the matter of her finger, which I'm sure you know all about. We weren't able to attach the tip of the ring finger back on, so we had to rid the wound of infection and close it. And final, the gash on her face, which luckily was quite shallow, was stitched up, but she will have a thin scar, even with the use of the topical ointments we've prescribed. As for now, she's still quite doped up on morphine due to the surgery, so you may visit her, but I can't stress enough that she will need rest. So I would advise that you do not make any loud noises, and please, be gentle with her entire body." He looked at the group sadly, "I don't know about you but there were tons of wounds all over her entire body. She's been through hell," and with that he led them to her room.

"You can say that again doc," Morgan muttered from the back, as they entered the private room.

The girls gasped as they entered, looking shocked at the scene before them. Charlotte was clearly immune to morphine, for now she was wide awake and smiling at the team, her eyes glimmering. "What's up?" she asked, smirking.

"Why are you not asleep?" Kate asked, walking over to her bedside, laughing after hours of looking downright miserable.

"Because then I would seem like some sort of weakling," she said in an obvious sort of tone, 'and then I wouldn't get to see your reactions either," she added.

"Smartass" said Rossi, beaming down at her with pride.

"You had us worried back there Russia," Morgan said, clearly still too worn to smile as much as the others.

Hotch sighed before smiling, "there's going to be a ton of paperwork when we get back"

"I'll help you. I mean, it's not like I can run away when I get bored of it, now can I?" Charlotte said jokingly, before looking at Reid, "You look pissed, mate."

Reid took a breath before answering, "You had me scared shitless, do you know that? I mean, what would've happened if you died? Who would talk to me about Doctor Who and Star Trek? I mean, we made plans to go to Comic-Con as well. We had tickets and everything. Do you know how hard it would've been to return them?"

The others looked back and forth between the two, waiting for Charlotte to drop-kick Reid out of the room for being so inconsiderate.

But they were not prepared for the two to burst into laughter, and for Reid to give her a hug. The pair were laughing so hard, they cried. Tears rolled down their ever-brightening faces as they laughed.


	14. Chapter 14

'Are you ready yet?" Reid asked, as he flipped the channel for what must have been the fiftieth time. He was sitting in Charlotte's living room, waiting for her so that they could go to Comic-Con together. He'd arrived nearly half an hour ago and been waiting while she applied the 'last' of her makeup. She'd come up with the idea of him dressing as Batman, knowing full well that he was Reid's favourite superhero. Her costume was a complete mystery.

It wasn't until she walked out that he realized what was taking her so long. She was wearing a purple trenchcoat, tie, gloves and pants, with a green vest. She was wearing a short, messy, matted green wig, and had a pale face, the only colour coming from the red lipstick that traced her mouth and went up both sides of her face, drawing attention to the large cut that made her mouth look as though it reached her right temple.

"Jesus," he said, looking down at her as she walked into the room. "I didn't think this is what you had in mind."

"What do you mean?' she asked, looking down at her costume then at his. "Seems like they match."

"Yeah, but I thought that you might have gone for something like Catwoman, or Poison Ivy?" he said, as she picked up her wallet and phone, and tucked them into her pocket.

"I was going to do that, but it would've taken forever to conceal my scars, especially this bastard," she said, pointing to the right side of her face, where her smile continued. "So I thought I might as well embrace it." She picked up her keys and ushered him out of the apartment, locking the door behind her. "We'd ought to get going, or we'll miss the panels."

He nodded as they went down the stairs and out to the parking lot. They decided to take her motorcycle, as it would have been difficult to find a parking spot and the bike took up a small amount of space. She picked up a helmet and placed it on her head, before turning and passing him the spare helmet. He stood there and pointed to his head, "how do you think this is going to fit?" he asked.

"Take the mask off, and show the people of Gotham who you really are," she said, echoing lines from the Dark Knight.

He laughed before climbing on behind her as she revved the engine. Before he could even prepare himself, she shot out of the lot and onto the road. Immediately rap music began blaring out of the speakers, "What is this?" Reid asked, as they shot down the street.

"Don't you mean 'who is this'?" she replied sassily. "And before you ask again, it's Eazy-E."

"I figured as much, they said his name fifty times in the beginning of the track," he muttered, as she continued along the way.

HE could see where the convention was being held, as the traffic slowed and came to an abrupt halt. It took about twenty minutes until they were able to turn into the lot and another thirty before they were able to find a small little spot to park the bike.

They quickly joined the line and within minutes they were inside the huge convention centre. In the centre were display cases of items used in the most recent Avengers film, and the same for the upcoming Ant-Man film. They weaved in and out of the various booths and managed to sneak into one of the conferences for Suicide Squad. They sat in silent awe as numerous people entered and sat down at the panel, answering various questions about the film. They spent an hour or so there, before they left and snuck into the next room, where they were in the middle of a conference with members of the upcoming Star Wars film.

The day was spent hopping in and out of conferences, much as people would do when bar-hopping. It wasn't until the end of the day, at around 7 pm, that they picked up a few things (Reid picking some toys for Henry), and decided to head home.

Charlotte was half expecting the bike to have been towed away, but luckily enough, there were more important problems for security to deal with. Just as the loaded up the sidebags with the merchandise, Reid's phone began to ring violently. He turned it on and frowned, "Garcia." Charlotte sighed as he answered. "Hey, what's up?" he asked, hoping that she wouldn't say what he thought she would.

"We've got a case," she replied solemnly, from the other line, confirming Reid's suspicions.

"We'll be there in fifteen, max twenty," Reid replied, about to end the call.

"We?" Garcia's voice asked questioningly.

"Charlotte and I," he replied quickly, before turning the phone off, and climbing onto the back of the bike. "To the office, I guess," he said.

"We'll, I thought we were having too much fun. It had to end at some point. I just wish that these unsubs could take a day off, you know?" Reid laughed nervously, "I mean, don't they ever think that, hey, we have plans?" She revved the engine and exited the parking lot swiftly, heading along the road that would take them directly to the office.

Neither of them spoke until they exited the elevators and entered the office.

"I think you have a bit too much makeup on," Rossi said, laughing at the pair as they walked in.

Charlotte bit her thumb at him, while Morgan added, "I think you may have missed your mouth," gesturing at the smile.

She stuck out her tongue as they climbed up the small staircase and headed into the conference room, where Kate, JJ, Hotch, and Garcia were waiting. "So what have we got?" she asked.

Hotch looked at her confused, "Charlotte?" he asked, squinting slightly.

She whipped her head towards him and in the best Joker impersonation said, "Yes?"

He smiled before remembering why they were here. "Garcia, if you could?"

The blonde nodded before gesturing to the screen, "two weeks ago, the LAPD found 26 year old Ashleigh Smith's body in the city's west end, where she was dumped after being stabbed 46 times. The police thought it may have been due to some gang conflict, and have been investigating the circumstances of her death. Just three days later, they discovered 28 year old Kelly Jones' body, stabbed 30 times, also dumped in the same area. And less than two hours ago, they found 24 year old Chantel Cassidy's body, stabbed 43 times also in the same area. The police believe that they have a serial killer."

The team flicked through the photos of the crime scene on their iPads, "so he clearly has a preference for his victims," Morgan said.

"And some serious rage issues," Reid said.

"And he must be strong as well," Charlotte added, "to stab someone over 40 times requires more than adrenaline."

They all looked up at Hotch who said, "Wheels up in twenty," before leaving the room, obviously going to phone Jack and tell him he would not be coming home tonight.

The others closed their tablets before looking around, "so where were you guys?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at Reid's fake muscle padding.

"Comic-Con" the pair replied simultaneously.

"And here I was thinking it was some sort of fantasy," Morgan said wiggling his eyebrows at the pair.

Reid blushed furiously while Charlotte had a look of feigned shock on her face, "I didn't know you had fantasies about the Joker and Batman!" she said jokingly.

Morgan fake laughed, before saying, "Well, if it was a sexy Joker, then . . ." he trailed off.

**PS, I have a small LOTR fanfic in the works. Just thought you ought to know.**


	15. Chapter 15

**So, it's been a while since I wrote a story that wasn't Harry Potter themed. I took a little break from writing my Criminal Minds fanfiction because I didn't think people were that interested in it, and because my main story is the Marauder's Fanfiction, that NO ONE seems to be paying attention to. It sucks, because I spend a majority of my time focused on the one fanfiction story that I created my account to publish, and it doesn't seem like my hard work is being appreciated. So I decided to come back and write a chapter of this to sort of clear my head from everything that's going on with Harry Potter and so that I can give the eighty or so followers of this story what they want: an update. So here it is, the next chapter.**

**BTW did anyone watch the last episode of Criminal Minds? Damn, I was wondering when they were going to bring back Reid. It was so nice to hear his voice after so long. I mean, I kinda tuned out of Criminal Minds since the season started, but that whole "Dirty Dozen" thing was pretty freaking interesting. **

**What did you guys think? **

It took Charlotte a surprisingly short amount of time to wipe off her makeup, and she returned to the bullpen with almost ten minutes to spare. Luckily, JJ had an extra blouse and pants for her to change into. She didn't think it would be appropriate to show up in another field dressed as a mass murder what with the current situation.

The same could not be said for Reid, who enlisted the help of both Rossi and Morgan to remove a majority of the padding. It was quite funny to see Reid's frame change from one resembling John Cena to a Ramen Noodle in a matter of moments. Hotch was in his office, collecting paperwork and was laughing ever so slightly at his view from above.

The team had come together quite nicely. He had expected it to be quite tough for the others to accept Charlotte, especially with her – exciting – background. Yet, in light of the incident that had taken place a few weeks ago, he found that they'd all recovered quite quickly, including Reid and Charlotte, who had been brought even closer together.

While Hotch was not one to voluntarily get involved in the personal lives of his teammates, he found himself participating in the betting pool concerning the current and future relationship of the two geniuses of the team.

He'd chucked the last of his files in his briefcase, and grabbed his go-bag from behind his desk, before heading out to the bullpen. "Let's get going guys," he said, nodding over to Reid, Rossi, and Morgan, who were still laughing at Reid's ordeal.

With a steady blush creeping up his neck, Reid ducked beneath his table and produced his belongings, following Hotch as he went. Hotch slowed down ever so slightly and held the first elevator open for himself, Reid, Rossi, and Morgan, while the girls took the other elevator.

"So, Comic Con huh?" Hotch said, in a passive voice.

Reid's blush deepened, "Yeah, it was pretty fun." He fiddled with the buckle on his bag, and tried to ignore the piercing looks he was receiving from the rest of his team

"What did you do there?" Morgan asked, wiggling a thick eyebrow, and smirking.

Reid groaned, "Can you not?" he said, as the elevator dinged and opened. He grinned ever so slightly so that they knew he wasn't mad as they headed out to the small runway.

He could hear the girls behind him talking. Charlotte's voice was the first he distinguished.

"No, no, no, the Allspark is completely different from the Tesseract. The Allspark is an ancient artifact that can create new Transformer life by bestowing machinery with sparks. The Tesseract is the Space Gem or Cosmic Cube and, well –"

Reid jumped in, "no one, not even the people that are credited with creating the Tesseract- in the Comics- know what it can do. The possibilities are endless. It has power, it can generate wormholes, it can do pretty much anything in that sense. It's like an unlimited weapon, which is why no one can be trusted with it."

He laughed at the look on Charlotte's face, "I was going to get to that," she said, following him up the steps and into the plane.

They took their customary seats together and began to bicker amongst themselves.

"I told you I could explain it," Charlotte said, as Reid continued to smile.

"Hey, you were the one that began to falter, I just picked it up again."

"Yeah, but just because I stopped doesn't mean that you get to ruin the one point I had to make, brain boy!"

Reid laughed a little harder, "Brain boy? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?"

"Oh, come off it, you know I have a way with words, none of which are permitted in a work environment."

"Since when did you care about the work environment?' Reid asked innocently.

"Oh shut it," she finished, looking across the table at JJ and Kate. "Did you see the finale for American Horror Story?" she asked the two girls who nodded fervently.

"Hell yeah I did, although Will doesn't enjoy the show as much as I do. It makes him kind of sick," JJ confessed.

Kate nodded, "I never had a problem with the gore-y stuff, but it makes Chris super-queasy."

"Yeah, the guys back at my old work didn't used to like it at all. I think they just couldn't handle it, what with all the work we did then," Charlotte said, as she opened up the file and began flicking through some of the victim profiles.

Reid was about to state that not all men were as queasy as the girls thought they were when Hotch interrupted.

"So, we have an unsub who targets women in their 20s and is choosing a victim in a very short amount of time," here he paused, "what do you think?"

"Maybe the unsub is spiraling out of control? I mean, three people in two weeks, and there isn't much of a cooling off period between them all," said Kate.

"Maybe they're choosing victims of opportunity?" suggested Rossi. "The first girl was found in a business suit, the next in a tracksuit, and the last one was wearing something a young woman would wear if they were going to university?"

"Well, the nearest university is UCLA, so that could be right," said Charlotte.

"The drop sites are all within a 10 km of one another, which means that the unsub probably lives somewhere in the middle, and doesn't have a vehicle that could allow them to conceal a body."

"The time of death on the first two indicate that they were killed at some point during the early morning, which could hint that they might have a job," said Hotch.

Just then, the little television on the plane turned on and Garcia showed up. "I seem to be the bearer of bad news," she began.

"What do you-?" JJ started.

"LAPD found another victim, but she's still alive and in critical condition."

The others looked around, shocked. "Two people in one day," said Hotch.

"And one of them didn't die," Charlotte added.

"Maybe he was in a rush," Garcia said. "But all I can tell you is that she fought tooth and nail to get away from this sicko. Some officers have already been dispatched to the hospital and should be getting a testimony and sketch of the guy in a few moments.

"This is way to abrupt. I mean, this unsub is clearly on a rampage," said JJ, looking around at the others.

'Or perhaps they're on a mission," said Hotch.

The landing at the airport was quick, but due to the heavy traffic of LA, the team didn't reach the offices till much later. A majority of the officers were still in, trying to solve the current issue, and outside of the building stood a flurry of reporters who were adamant on getting the information that they needed.

One woman went so far as to shove a microphone right into Morgan's face, nearly knocking out his teeth. "HEY!" he boomed, causing them all to die down slightly. "Knock it off, we're trying to solve an issue here, and blocking up our way to the building is not going to get you the information you want, but rather a lawsuit."

The newscaster who'd nearly hit his backed away, but only ever so slightly.

"All these people crowding around here, you'd think there was a new Harry Potter film," Charlotte huffed, as Reid smiled.


	16. Chapter 16

So, for those of you wondering what's going on with this story: it's on permanent hiatus.

Don't worry, i'm not going to get rid of it, it'll still be up, it just won't be updated. The recent changes in the cast right now are kind of making it hard for me to write this story while keeping it close to the original canon.

SO what i'm going to do is start a new Criminal Minds fan fiction (not right now, I'm still working on the OC) which will be posted by the end of June at the latest. It will focus on Reid's relationship with an ME he meets while on a case. The pair sort of rub shoulders and begin to warm up to one another. She won't be part of the BAU, but she's a perfect fit for Reid. Her character's physical description will be the same as Charlotte Romanoffs, but the name and background history will be different. Believe me, you're probably going to prefer this OC to Charlotte.

For those of you who may ask, this story is NOT UP for adoption. It's just ... not finished.

Don't look at me like that...

I'm sorry.

Forgive me.


End file.
